Argent RWBY
by TheFrostZone
Summary: My first story. A self insertion. Replaces Jaune as the leader of team JNPR, renamed team NNPR (Napier). Semi-AU. That's really all there is. I will update when I want to. Eventual SI/OC x Blake
1. Prologue

Chapter 1: Prologue

—o—

"Freeze!" I immediately throw my hands up in the air. My heartrate skyrockets, and my breathing hastens.

"I don't want any trouble." I keep my voice emotionless, though inside, I'm freaking out.

I hear the cocking of a hammer, and I take in a sharp breath.

_Crap… a gun._

"Yah? Well, give me all your money!" The voice is shaky and hoarse. I can smell the stench of alcohol wafting from his mouth.

I maneuver my eyes towards the car next to me. Looking at the reflection, I have a good look at the man holding me up. He is unkempt, his hair oily and bedraggled. He has an unkept beard, graying at the roots. The hands holding the gun shake uncontrollably. His finger is already on the trigger.

I announce my every move. "I'm going to have to reach into my pocket."

"Just fugging give me your money!" He points his gun at my back threateningly.

I slowly lower my right hand, and slip it into my pocket. Shuffling a bit, I take hold my wallet and pull it out. I continue deliberately moving my arm, and raise it back up. The man snatches my wallet away from me with a grunt and counts the bills I keep inside.

He snarls and a nasty grin spreads across his face.

"Well, now that ya've been so helpful, I s'pose I won't leave any witnesses." He slurs his speech a little. My eyes widen.

_Shit! Is he really gonna-_

I take a deep breath. Keeping a close eye on the man, I immediately twist myself around push the barrel of his gun out of the way to dodge his clumsy shot. I'm lucky that this guy's a drunk, and his delayed reaction allows for an opportunity for me to try to disarm him. The loud bang causes a loud ringing in my ear, and I wince in pain. I wrestle his gun, and try to point it away from myself.

_Urgh! Almost there! I-_

_***BANG***_

I stagger back.

_What… what just happ-_

I cough up a glob of blood as I instinctively reach my hand up to my mouth. Looking up, the look of satisfaction on the man's face slowly turns to one of horror. He looks back and forth to me and his gun. He drops it to the floor, and starts running away, staggering in the street, knocking a trash can over.

The pain immediately rushes into my chest, and I fall over gurgling, still in shock.

_Ah…! Can't… breathe… Hurts… so… bad…!_

Feeling my chest, there's a hole in my shirt, and tons of blood is pouring out.

_Punctured… lung… This… is… agh…!_

I take shorter and shorter breaths, each hurting worse every time. My eyelids have trouble staying open. I fall to the floor and lay on my back.

It feels like hours until I hear rapid footsteps approaching me. Opening my eyes, I see a young woman kneeling down next to me. I can't hear her, only making out a few words.

"…Sir!... shot… ambulance… don't worry…"

I try to speak, but only the gurgle of blood answers me. With ragged breaths, I reach out with my hand towards the woman, but the closer I get, the farther away she seems.

She frantically puts pressure on my wound, to no avail. I'm drowning in my own blood.

I take my final breath.

—o—

…

…

…

**? ? ?**

**?:?**

**? ? ?**

I open my eyes, raising myself in a sitting position with a large breath. Gasping, I place my hand on my chest, feeling it rise and fall with every breath, and my heart pumping a mile a minute.

Slowing my breathing, I take a quick glance at my surroundings, and I am surprised to see pitch black. "Where am I?" I mutter to myself.

"HELLO?... IS ANYBODY THERE?" I call out, at least a little hopeful for a response. An echo answers me.

…

_Nothing…_

I flex my fingers and move my limbs. With a double take, I look at my body. I can clearly see myself, even though my immediate area is cast in pitch black darkness.

_I'm... alive? I think. Argh, damn, my brain... What the hell happened? _ I rack my grey matter for answers.

My heartbeat quickens and my head becomes light as the memories rush back without warning _That's... that's right. I was shot. _Grabbing my chest in phantom pain, I shiver unconsciously before trying to think of something else. I rock back and forth on the nonexistent floor.

_So, where the hell am I? Hell?_ The darkness doesn't answer me.

"Well if this is hell, it isn't _so_ bad." Right as I mutter that, a feminine voice fills my ears.

"Welcome, to the great beyond."

My eyes widen and I stand up, ready to run. "What the fuck!?" I twist my body back and forth to find the source of the voice.

"Who- where are you!?"

"No where."

"And everywhere."

_...Oh for fuck's sake not one of these people._

"Show yourself!" I desperately yell out at the void. The voice lets out a small 'hmph.'

"As you wish." A person walks towards me, my ears sensing the direction their coming from.

The darkness obscures their figure until they come with a few meters. She's a woman.

She has bright white blonde hair, tied into a ponytail that rests on one of her shoulders. Her eyes are a blue color, dulled for some reason. Her face is aged, but she still has a youthful appearance to her. A slight European accent is present when she speaks, a light cadence soothes your eardrums when you listen, though a hint of danger is ever prevalent.

I tilt my head at her. "Soooo... what religion is this?"

She stares into my eyes before laughing. It's a warm laughter, without malice. Though there is something to it that...

"You believe me to be a deity. How quaint." She smiles disarmingly, and I somehow feel at home and comfortable around this person I just met. I shake my head, dropping a small smile I don't even know I have. Stop that.

"No, I am nothing of the sorts." She continues, turning around to face away from me. Stopping, she turns her head, a light smile on her face. "I am quite flattered you think so."

I rest my weight on a leg, looking around the empty space. "So... can you tell me what's happened to me? Aren't I supposed to be... dead?" I take a shaky breath, quite aware of my mortality.

The woman crosses her hands over her lap, pacing around me. I follow her movements with my eyes, turning my head when she leaves my peripheral vision.

"...Do you believe in the afterlife?"

I run my tongue over my teeth. "I'm an atheist." I begin. "Though more of an agnostic... in looser terms. If you show me proof, I'd believe you."

The woman lowers her head in a slow nod. "Of course." The surroundings suddenly explode into a bright light, causing me to hiss. Covering my eyes, my pupils contract, letting less light in, and allowing me to see. All around us, are... stars. Lots and lots of stars.

"Woah..." I breathe out dumbly.

Planet systems. Galaxies. Clusters. Superclusters. The... entire universe.

_...I have to be dreaming. I'm still alive, back on Earth. And the neurons in my brain are randomly firing in an attempt to form coherent thoughts. This is a dying dream. It has to be._

"This... is the universe as you know it." The woman interrupts my thoughts.

"But. Have you ever wondered... what is... beyond this veil?" The woman gently places two fingers, pinching, and causing the universe to shrink. Placing a finger at the edge of the observable universe, she passes it, moving past the pitch black darkness... before reaching a line separating the universe from... something.

"There's... there's no way..." My eyes widen and my jaw trembles as I back away from the woman.

"...Multiple universes." She pokes at the line, and everything _explodes_.

My ears start ringing, and my brain pounds against the inside of my skull, the sharp debilitating pain forcing me to my knees. I grit my teeth, not wanting to scream my throat hoarse. Gripping my hair, a few strands come loose from my scalp. Repeatedly slamming a fist on the nonexistent floor, I try to block out the throbbing pain with another stimulus, to no avail.

"What the-" I stare upwards at the woman, a bit of hate in my eyes. "What the hell did you do to me...!?"

She looks down at me, her blue eyes piercing into mine. Calming my breathing, I stand up with a bit of effort, clenching my hands into fists.

"We traveled. Across universes." The woman says casually. Shaking my head in disbelief I lift a shaky finger and point at her accusingly.

"You're lying. You have to be."

"What use do I have to lie to you? You are already dead." Her nonchalant reminder of my... not aliveness, is a punch in the gut. I lower my head, my bangs covering my eyes in a shadow.

"...Tell me where we are." I spit out.

"You believe me now?" The woman smiles softly.

"Do I even have a choice?" I glare at the floor, burning holes into the darkness. The woman lets a rush of air out of her nose.

_Of course not._ I think bitterly.

Standing in place, I wait for the woman to do something. She places her fingers back into the air, pushing outward with her forefinger and thumb, zooming into the picture. I peer closer in curiosity, careful to not disturb the woman. She continues zooming in, until she reaches a system of planets, eerily similar to the Solar System, selecting the third planet from the star in the center.

"This... is the planet of Remnant."

My eyes widen in recognition. _Remnant? No..._

This time, her smile is less nicer than before. "How would you like for... a second chance?"

Now, I won't lie and say that the opportunity to jump into the world of one of my favorite universes is not an appealing idea, but this is insane.

"No. I... I won't. I don't want it."

"...Are you sure?" The woman begins pacing around me. The clacking of her heels burrows into my brain, and I close my eyes.

"Y-Yes. I'm... I'm sure..." I say hesitantly.

She stops in front of me. "You are not a very good liar."

A flash of anger crosses my face. "What the hell did you expect, lady!? You just gave a choice! A choice to come back to fucking life in a place I don't belong in! I have family back home! I have a life!"

The woman's face turns sympathetic. "It would be prudent for you change to past tense. You... are not alive back on Earth."

This straw broke the camel's back. My voice cracks as I yell furiously. "Stop _fucking _lying to me, you fucking bitch! SHUT UP!" I clumsily throw a punch at her, which she easily dodges by stepping out of the way. I continue throwing half-assed punches at her, venting my anger. She then catches my fist, and pushes me backwards onto my back.

"Shut... up..."

I cry.

I sob fat tears as I bawl my heart out. I gulp massive amounts of air as I cover my face, trying to save my tattered reputation. I cry until no more tears fall out. Hiccuping, I lie on the floor, refusing to speak to the woman. Just leave me alone to die here.

Rubbing my red puffy eyes, I sit up, glaring at the woman with all the hate I can muster. She responds with a pitiful look.

"...Are you ready?"

I take a deep breath, the tears long gone. "You're not giving me much of a choice... Yes."

"You will need... a new name."

"Right... as if dying wasn't enough..." I retort spitefully.

The woman stares at me, waiting.

"Noctis..." A name comes to mind immediately. I think of a last name to pair with it. "Fleuret."

"Noctis Fleuret... 'Flower of the night.'" She translates on the fly. Nodding quietly, she gives her approval. "Exotic. Very well then, Noctis."

"What's the catch, then?" I stare at the woman. She stares back, causing me to disengage.

"There is no catch. You will be... reincarnated. Remnant is just the location. Nothing more, nothing less."

"The problem is that I don't trust you for someone I just met."

"There is no need for trust." She answers vaguely.

A thought comes to mind. "Hey, wait a minute. If I can be reincarnated, why can't I just reincarnate back on Earth?"

She hums in thought. "Good question." My hopes are raised. "Though pointless." And it all comes crashing down...

"What do you mean 'pointless'?"

The woman turns away, placing her hands behind her back. "While I was able to save your soul, your mortal body is deceased. My reincarnation abilities are limited. You are dead in your world. There is no changing that."

"However... I can move you to a different universe, one where you do not exist, yet are not dead. You will be a new person. And alive."

I comb my hair with a hand and sigh forcefully. Debating with myself will do no good. "Fine, then. Let's just... get it over with."

She nods, the soft smile returning. "Of course."

Closing her eyes, the smile fading away, she concentrates. Weaving her hands with purpose, a light blue Aura appears over her palms. Slowly but surely, a small dot of blue forms in front of her, expanding further and further until a large blue portal forms, swirling clockwise from the center. Moving out of the way, she turns to me.

"Step into the portal, Noctis."

Lowering my head one more time, I look back up confidently. Stepping forward with purpose, I stand in front of the entrance. I take a glance at the woman, who nods at me to continue. Letting out a deep breath, I step forward, the portal engulfing my form and closing behind me.

I am met with darkness once more.


	2. Beacon Academy

Chapter 2: Beacon Academy

—o—

**April 1**

**08:25**

**Beacon Academy Airship**

"This is the best day ever!"

I jolt awake at the sound of a high-pitched voice, almost falling out of my seat.

I yawn and push myself up before taking in my surroundings. I'm sitting on a bench, surrounded by people absorbed in their own conversations.

_So, this is Remnant, huh?_

I unconsciously run a hand across my chest, where I was shot. I am met with soft fabric, and the skin underneath is smooth. My breathing quickens a bit, the gunshot still fresh in my memory. I spend a few moments pondering my mortality before moving on.

I take a gander at my attire. Considering I'm supposed to be a hunter, I'm well equipped. I'm wearing a collared jacket, unzipped, the bottom reaching to the middle of my thighs and the arm portion reaching to my elbows. A dark royal blue undershirt fits snugly against my frame. A fingerless glove is on my right hand. I make a fist and hear the leather creaking. Slim-fitted pants reach to just below my knees. They are tucked into laced combat boots. I also look way more athletic compared to my past self.

Looking to my left, is a backpack, possibly mine. Looking around to make sure nobody's attention was on me, I snatch it, unzipping the bag and peering through its contents.

It… is nothing special. Most of the items inside are basic necessities, like a change of clothes and a sleeping bag, some sleepwear, etcetera.

_Well... guess I came well prepared._ I think sarcastically. Feeling up my waist, I feel sharp rectangular bumps in my pockets. Pulling the block from my left pocket, I notice that it's a scroll, though it just looks like my old phone in my old life, an iPhone 6S. Everything was uncannily similar, and I turned it on with a click of the power button. Scanning the top left of the screen, I read 'No Service'. Groaning to myself, I pocket it back and pull out the other block from my right pocket. It's… a wallet. Pretty uninteresting. It's a black, leather-bound flip wallet. It contains an ID, with my face plastered onto it. I take a closer look.

My face is more angular, and I have a defined chin. My eyes are blue, and I have thin eyebrows. My nose is sharp, and I basically look like an anime character. I look like I'm part of the RWBY universe, which is understandable. My hair is the defining part. It's jet black. It's parted to one side, and spiky. Hair s down from the sides, reaching to the middle of my cheeks.

_Well... that's... new._

I slide the ID back into its slot. I begin rifling through the other pockets of the wallet. I pull out a stack of plastic cards that have an L with two lines crossing through it.

_Lien… this is the currency on Remnant._ I recall.

Counting through, it reveals that I have around… 10,000 Lien…

_Holy crap... Is this supposed to be like Japanese Yen or something? That's a lot of paper._

I pocket the wallet and lean backwards into my seat, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves.

_So... this is actually happening. Do I even have a plan?_

"Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees!" My head snaps towards the voice. As if by magic, the crowd parts and I can see who is making that commotion. Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long.

I grimace. _Shit._

_What do I do? Talk to them? ...Should I?_

...

_No. Nuh uh. They're... they're not real. They're fictional characters. Just gotta remember that they're fictional. Not. Real. No influencing canon. If I don't talk to them, everything will be fine._

_Everything... will be fine... right?_

Hiding behind a mob of students, I listen in to Ruby and Yang's conversation.

Ruby shakes her head angrily. "I don't want to be the "bee's knees", okay? I don't wanna be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

Yang shifts her weight on one leg, crossing her arms. "What's with you? Aren't you excited?"

"Excited? Of course I am, it's just..."

Ruby bows her head, her hair covering her face.

"Well... I had to leave all my friends back at Signal. I don't want to be treated like I'm special. Just because I beat up some random thug."

Yang throws her hands up. "He wasn't just some regular ol' thug though! That was Roman Torchwick you pushed around! Even the VPD haven't been able to catch him, and you force him to run away with his tail between his legs!"

Ruby flushes under Yang's praise.

Yang places a hand on her waist. "Ya know, you shouldn't be so embarrassed all the time. You oughta gain some more confidence, Rubes."

"It's not that... I just... want to be normal. Graduate from Signal with my friends... then apply to Beacon like everyone else."

"But they made you an offer you couldn't refuse, right?"

"I know! Just having the opportunity to move up two grades...!" Ruby sighs glumly, her happy facade fading. Is she regretting her decision?

"Ruby..." Yang begins, her voice soft.

She then picks Ruby up by the waist and hugs her tightly, forcing Ruby to suffocate in Yang's ample chest.

"Haha! Even when you act like this, you're still soooo cute~!"

"Ack! Yang, cut it out-"

The distinct noise of a hologram being projected stops Yang from further teasing Ruby, dropping her back down on the floor. A blonde woman with huntress garb begins speaking.

"Attention, new students. Welcome to Beacon Academy."

"Who the heck's that?" Yang asks.

"That's Glynda Goodwitch." Ruby informs her, remembering the events of last night.

"Ohhh."

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy."

"Our world is experiencing a time of peace, and as future Hunters, it will fall to you to uphold this peace. You all have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now, it shall be our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." Goodwitch's hologram fades away.

Ruby gasps and approaches the window. She puts both her hands against the glass and stares down.

"Woah... you can still see Signal from here." She points to a large structure in the distance, on the island of Patch. She must have good eyes, as Signal is just a large spire from where I'm sitting. Looking again, I see giant walls surrounding the outskirts of Vale, which made a lot of sense, actually, considering the constant danger of Grimm attacks.

"Home isn't that far away after all..." Ruby smiles.

"Beacon's our home now." Yang places her hand on Ruby's shoulder.

I frown. ..._Is it?_

—o—

_Ah..._

_Jaune should be making his appearance by now. _

"Now arriving at Beacon Academy… Please stand back from the automated door. Before exiting, be sure to check your area for personal belongings. Thank you, and have a very safe day." The automated PA system buzzes out.

_But where is he?_

As the airship docks at the Academy ports, I stand up to my full height of 5 feet and 11 inches- _Wait what? Did I grow an inch...?_

The heavy pneumatic doors hiss as they open up for students to file out. Every single person rushes for the exit, forming a pedestrian jam. Yang and Ruby are caught up in the middle of it, and they are forced to separate for the time being.

"Oh no! Yang! Where are you!?" Ruby loses sight of her sister, but is relieved when she replies.

"There's too many people here! Oof! I'll, uh, I'll meet you at the orientation!" Yang yells out, pushed out of the airship before Ruby, and her voice immediately drowns in the sea of conversations and shuffling feet.

"Hey! Wait! Where _is_ the orientation!?"

...

"Yang!? Hellooo!?"

"Don't leave me alone here..." Ruby whimpers.

All she can hear is the mindless chattering buzzing around her. Now that her sister is gone and her only lifeline disappearing, it makes her feel extra small. Before she knows it, she is pushed out of the airship by impatient students eager to step off.

Clutching her hands near her chest, Ruby looks up, and becomes mesmerized by the sight before her, oblivious to the irritated glances of people who had to maneuver around her.

**08:32**

**Beacon Academy**

Beacon Academy is a sight to behold. The school is situated up atop a cliffside, where airships are required for moving from Beacon to anywhere else in Vale. There's a massive wall situated behind the campus itself, around a kilometer away, as an addition to the natural defense of the mountain range. A river flowing from the top of a mountain flows down to the front courtyard of Beacon, before dropping down to the lake below. The main attraction is the large clock tower, aptly named Beacon Tower, where the headmaster Ozpin resides.

"Woah..."

Dropping her hands down, she walks forward, but is pushed off her feet by someone, knocking her into a stack of white suitcases.

"WAHH!"

They pop open, and vials of Dust explode into a fiery mess, causing a large smoke screen to form. Ruby falls down on her butt, and clutches her head, her ears ringing. She begins to nurse her skin, which is coated in ash. She coughs up thick black smoke.

"YOU!"

Ruby stops cleaning her clothes and points at herself sheepishly.

"Me?"

"YES, you! What do you think you're doing!?"

Since I'm the final one to step off the airship, I finally have a good look at what's going on. Ruby is sat down on the floor, while a white haired girl points at her accusingly, an angry expression on her face. A crowd begins to gather around the two of them. I stand at the back, not sure whether to intervene or not.

_Weiss Schnee..._

Weiss has a pale complexion, and her light blue eyes pierce into the soul. Her long white hair is pulled into an off set ponytail with a tiara. Bangs cover her forehead. A wicked scar runs down her left eye. Looking at her attire, it's obvious how well off she is. Weiss sports a strapless white dress, with a sash around her waist. To cover her arms and shoulders, Weiss wears a loose white jacket only reaching to her waist, and flares out at her wrists. The inside is a deep shade of red.

I also take this time to examine Ruby. Of course, her defining feature is her silver eyes, and her black hair is swept to one side, with little red tips. She wears a mostly black dress- I mean combat skirt. She has a red trim around the skirt and her wrists, as well as some black stockings and combat boots. Her giant, flowing, red cape is fastened to her shoulders with some golden pins.

Ruby stands up from her sitting position and bows forward, head dipped low. "I-I'm so sorry. I got pushed, and I panicked and then-"

"Tch." Weiss clicks her tongue. "Save your breath. You think an apology will settle this?"

Ruby flinches at her tone.

Weiss leans forward and grabs a Dust vial from the floor, inspecting it for any damage. She makes Ruby take a good look at it. "This is Dust. And it is mined and purified from Schnee Dust Company quarries. If I were not so charitable, you would be paying for each and every vial that you exploded!"

"Ex-exploded?" Ruby sweat drops.

Weiss huffs. "Are you daft or what?"

"Dust!" Weiss emphasizes. By pushing the vial into Ruby's nose.

"Everything from energy, technology, weaponry, Dust enhances all of it. There are four types, Water, Fire, Earth, Air. They can be refined into liquid or powdered form." Weiss breaks off for a moment to repack all of the intact Dust vials into a suitcase.

"The refining process also makes the Dust highly unstable, and thus dangerous. So! They! Can! EX! PLODE!" Weiss emphasizes her last sentence, dragging it out like speaking with a child.

She turns around before her eyebrows furrow. Turning back, she tilts her head, examining Ruby closer.

"How did you even manage to get into Beacon Academy in the first place?" She leans forward, making Ruby break a sweat. "As a matter of fact, you seem a bit too young to be attending."

"Only the best of the best can attend this academy, and only a few of them can hope to be become a true hunter. It's no place for a child who doesn't recognize basic Dust types." Weiss rants.

"I-" Ruby puts in, before being immediately interrupted.

"_You don't belong here_. Run home to mommy, why don't you?" Weiss turns around, carting her suitcases with her.

My eyes widen. _Oh shit. You did not just say that._

"What... did you say...?" Ruby's voice wavers and the pressure intensifies, forcing the crowd back.

Weiss turns her head, letting a brief chuckle escape her lips. "Oh? I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that. You'll have to speak up."

Ruby's eyes were wet, tears forming at the corners. "I already... apologized to you. You stuck up princess...!"

"W-What?" Weiss clearly did not expect her to retaliate.

"If I'm a child..."

Ruby points a finger at Weiss, screaming at the top of her lungs. "THEN YOU'RE NOT SO GROWN-UP EITHER! WITH THAT-WITH THAT PRISSY HAIRCUT OF YOURS!"

The bystanders all grow loud, eager to see a fight between them.

Weiss seethes. "How-How dare you!? You call this an apology!?"

"I already said sorry! You just won't accept it!"

With every word Ruby said, her finger inches closer and closer to Weiss.

"You're such a stupid jerk! With that attitude... you... you..."

"YOU WOULD NEVER CUT IT AS A HUNTRESS!"

...

...

"...Say that again. I dare you." Weiss's voice fills with venom, and her stature becomes cold and menacing. The pressure increases tenfold, and the crowd begins dispersing, possibly in fear for their lives.

This is my last straw. Even if I already knew that the confrontation will end with Blake intervening and Weiss leaving, I feel like I have an obligation to break up the argument. Pushing through the thinning crowd, I make it to the center and raise my voice.

"Hey! That's enough! Both of you!"

Ruby and Weiss break eye contact before turning their anger towards me. I flinch at their stares, but continue in my efforts to defuse the situation.

"Stop fighting and just look at yourselves! Do you think this is how a real hunter would act like!? Belittling each other, fighting petty squabbles, you should be ashamed of yourselves!" That last comment is mostly aimed at Weiss, who grits her teeth and growls in anger.

"How... How dare you!?" Her eyes have a dangerous glint to them.

I double down. "How dare me!? How dare _you_! Bullying a new student! Is that how a heiress should act!?" I stand a bit closer to Ruby. "You should be setting an example! You're representing your company, and maybe even your own nation by coming here!"

I turn the crowd against her. I hear murmurs of agreement on my statement.

"You...! you...!" Weiss's begins shaking so hard I feel like she might have a seizure any moment now.

She looks to the crowd, her hands shaking and her breathing irregular. Looking back to me, full of hate, she gives a pained shout, snatching up her suitcases and leaving without a word.

The crowd disperses fully, the drama finally coming to a close. I realize I was tense the entire time, and relax my muscles. I can feel a migraine coming on. Rubbing my temples, I let out a deep breath.

_God...dammit. Way to make an impression, dumbass._

I hear a small whimper from behind me, and I turn around to see Ruby slumping down to her knees. She is holding her hands to her face.

"Why me...?" She mutters.

Ruby falls to the floor flat on the back, feeling the cool breeze from the ground elevation. My eyes soften. Standing above her, my shadow encompasses her face.

"Hello there."

Ruby opens her closed eyes, looking up at me.

"You alright?" I ask.

_What the hell am I doing? But... this might be the best way to enact out my plan. Time to make some friends._

I held my arm out, hand open, for Ruby to grab onto.

"My name's Noctis Fleuret. It's nice to meet you."

Ruby stares at my outstretched hand, before slowly gripping it with her own.

"Ruby."

She pulls herself up, and I let go of her. She smiles.

"Ruby Rose."

—o—

**08:46**

**Beacon Academy Courtyard**

Sitting on a bench, Ruby and I shuffle awkwardly and sit in silence. Ruby swings her feet absentmindedly and stares up at the sky, watching the clouds float overhead. The sound of birds chirping fills me with a sense of nostalgia.

"So... what's your story?" I begin, turning my head to look at the crimson reaper.

"My story?" Ruby harrumphs and places her chin on her palms.

"Yeah. Your likes, dislikes, your dream. All that." I elaborate.

"Well, you know my name." Ruby coughs into her fist. "Um. My name is Ruby Rose." She begins. "I am fifteen years old, and this is my first year at Beacon Academy! I like..." She pauses. "Um, I like a lot of things. I like weapons. I like cookies. I like music. I like to read. I... I love my family. Um... I dislike... I dislike people who act like jerks." Guess Ruby is still peeved about her encounter with Weiss.

"My dream... My dream is to become a huntress. I... I want to be a hero. A hero that saves everybody. Like in the storybooks. I don't care what people think about me. I just know, that this is what I want." Ruby looks upwards, clenching her fist.

My lips curl upward. "Hm. Well said." I lean backwards and place my hands behind my head.

"My name... is Noctis Fleuret. I am seventeen years old, and this is my first year at Beacon as well."

"I like many things. I like... reading. Video games. Tinkering. I dislike... hypocrisy. Practice what you preach, is what I say."

"My dream..." I stop. _Do I have a dream?_

"...My dream is to protect my precious people. To fight for the common good. Fight for the next generation. I want to fight... so that there can be a world to remember. _That_ is my dream."

...

_Huh. That felt... right, somehow._

Ruby's face lights up, and she jumps up from the bench. "Hey, wait! We're hunters in training, so let's show each other our cool weapons! What do you say?"

My heartbeat quickens. I chuckle nervously. "Look... this, uh, might seem a bit strange to you but..."

Ruby looks at me expectantly. I draw a quick breath.

"I don't... exactly _have_ a weapon."

...

"EHHHHH!?" Ruby gapes and stares at me like I'm crazy.

"You-I-wha-huh!?" Ruby waves her hands around, not entirely understanding what she just heard.

I let her play out her charade before she gets up in my face.

"You-You have to be joking... right!?" Ruby looks like someone took Crescent Rose and said that they wouldn't give it back.

I begin sweating, scratching my cheek. "I, uh... I'm not joking."

"But- that's- you're a huntsman! Oh, I mean, a huntsman in training... But every huntsman has a weapon!" Ruby exclaims.

"Well, not necessarily..." I try to deflect.

"Do you... fight with your fists? Like my sister?" Ruby asks with curiosity.

"I, uh..." I look away, thinking of an excuse.

I quickly stand up, power walking towards the auditorium and its two large wooden doors.

"Hey, uh, we should go. The ceremony's probably about to start." I say. Sticking my hands in my pockets, my long legs allow me to take larger strides.

"Hey, wait...! Grr...! You still haven't answered my question, Noct!" Ruby runs to my side.

—o—

**08:50**

**Beacon Academy Auditorium**

Pushing open the large doors, the wave of noise hits Ruby and I like bricks.

"Ruby! Ruuuby!" Turning our heads to the voice, Ruby jumps for joy when she notices Yang calling for her. Yang is waving her hand by the front of the auditorium.

"Yang!"

"Hey, I saved you a spot!" I am about to sneak away before Yang notices my presence.

"Huh? Who's this? Hey, Rubes! You didn't tell me that you made a friend!" She eyes me up and down. With a raise of her eyebrows, she purrs and looks to be undressing me with her eyes. Which makes me really uncomfortable.

Yang sports a giant grin, her long blonde hair swaying in the wind due to air pressure when we opened the door. She also has light purplish eyes, which aren't too strange on Remnant. Underneath her puffy jacket, she wears a yellow crop top, exposing her... assets. The jacket stops above the elbows, and exposes her midriff as well. Yang sports fingerless gloves, with her deactivated _Ember Celica_ worn around it. A brown belt is wrapped around her waist, with various pockets for something or other, with black mini shorts under it. She has asymmetrical orange socks, and brown boots. Yang also has an... orange scarf. For some reason.

Ruby pouts. "I couldn't tell you anything because we got separated! Then you disappeared and left me all alone!" She stomps her way towards Yang. I shrug to myself and follow in her footsteps.

Yang backs away, holding her hands out in surrender. "Yikes. Meltdown already?"

"No, I exploded."

Yang blinks.

"Uh... is that your attempt at a joke?" She laughs nervously.

Ruby waves her hands around frantically. "No, I literally exploded! There was this crabby girl, and she had a ton of Dust, and I tripped all over her luggage, and then she yelled at me, and I felt so bad, and she yelled at me again, and I just wanted her to stop shouting at me-e-e!"

Looking over the student body, I notice Weiss glaring in our general direction. It seems she's heard everything.

I poke Ruby in the shoulder. "Hey, uh, you might want to pipe down." I whisper in her ear.

Ruby looks at me, confused. "Hm? What?"

I silently point at Weiss, and her expression hardens even further, sending chills down both of Ruby and I's spines. Yang takes notice of us and who we are looking at and makes a judgement.

"Oh my gods, you really did explode."

"It was an accident." I tell her.

Yang smirks when I finally speak up. "Ah, so he speaks! So, pretty boy, what's your name?" She crosses her arms, smiling at me.

"It's Noctis Fleuret. You can call me Noct for short."

Yang grins stupidly. "Alright then, Noct! My name is Yang Xiao Long! I'm Ruby's older sister! Uh, half-sister."

"Different mothers?" I recall.

Yang nods slowly, her happy expression drooping somewhat.

_That's right... I remember now. Her mother abandoned her family. And Ruby's mother..._

The feedback of a microphone echoes throughout the auditorium, causing everyone inside to wince and fall silent. Looking up, Headmaster Ozpin adjusts his black, round-rimmed glasses.

"I'll... keep this brief."

"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, to dedicate your life to protecting the people. Now, in order to preserve the peaceful life brought to us by our predecessors, every single one of you in this room... will commit to four consecutive years of training, more harrowing than you can possibly imagine. It will be hard. It will be difficult. But above all else, be prepared. What lies ahead... will be anything but peaceful."

Ozpin's serious tone shifts to one of more lightheartedness. "With that said... you're all still students, so let's make these school years fun, alright?" He smiles, and backs away, letting Professor Goodwitch take over.

"All first years will have to participate in the mandatory tour of the school. After that, you will assemble in the dance hall tonight. The Initiation begins tomorrow. It will be a chance for you to display your skills. Be ready."

The students shuffle awkwardly, whispering amongst themselves about the nature of Ozpin's speech.

"You are dismissed."

—o—

**10:02**

**Beacon Academy Locker Rooms**

"...And this, is where you will change into your hunter uniforms tomorrow!"

The professor that served as the tour guide gestures to the locker rooms, segregated by gender. Peering inside, it is currently devoid of life. It's a nice open area, with a few hundred lockers lining the walls, with benches in the center lane.

"Yes, showers are behind the door at the far end of the room. When you require cleaning, go there." The professor answers a question. Nobody else raises their hand, so he continues.

"Now, the rumors being spread around will be confirmed here. Yes, you will be receiving your lockers _now_. So, line up." He barks out. All the students hurry into a line to get a locker first, which I don't understand, as we'll be getting random lockers anyway. But I digress. Since I lined up last, I am the last to receive a locker, and the professor hands me a slip of paper containing my locker number, and the combination to open it with my Scroll, yeah, weird, I know, as well as use the rocket locker functionality.

_Locker 141... Gotta remember that._

Shoving the slip in my pocket, I reach the 100s aisle of lockers, and travel down to my number. Testing the code, which I'm not even surprised works, I shove my belongings inside, well my only belonging, which is the backpack I found when I woke up.

"Everybody check their lockers yet?" The professor asks, receiving large murmurs of agreement.

"Very good. Now, moving on..."

I sigh. _This is going to be a very long day._

—o—

At the end of the tour, the sun already begins to set, and I step outside in the cool air of the Beacon courtyard. I am sweaty and tired from all of the walking. We were introduced to the Forests Emerald and Forever Fall, as well as introductions to each class that could be taken in the academy. All that added up to more than four hours of boring exposition.

Deciding that I have stood long enough outside, I rush my way towards the locker room, jumping inside the shower room. Taking a quick shower, I dress in my pajamas before going to brush my teeth. With a toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, I step in front of a mirror, which is fogged up. Pressing my palm against it, I wipe slowly, the slow squeaking of squeegeed water finally granting me a view of my face. Grabbing my chin, I take a better look at myself.

My blue eyes are even more vibrant compared to my ID card, which washed out basically any color. Adjusting the angle of my neck, my jet black hair almost shines blue in certain angles.

_This is so weird... I'm looking in the mirror... But I don't see... me. All I see is a stranger staring back._

Sighing, I brush my teeth and wash my face with warm water before rubbing it off with a towel. The bangs of my hair fall over my eyes, obscuring my vision.

Ignoring that, I run back to my locker to place my hunter clothes and hygiene stuff back inside.

—o—

**18:17**

**Beacon Academy Ballroom**

Heading to the ballroom, my breathing slows after the little jog I had to reach my destination faster. Looking inside, Goodwitch is monitoring the students. My eyes widen as I scan the room. It is just... filled with beds. Rows and rows of beds.

"Uhhh..." My jaw is wide open.

"Excuse me, young man?"

I stand at attention and look at Goodwitch, pointing at myself.

"Who, me?"

"Yes, you. Can you tell me your name?" Goodwitch speaks with her authoritative air.

_Assigned sleeping arrangements. How... unusual._

"It's... Noctis Fleuret."

Flipping through her Scroll, she frowns and furrows her eyebrows. "Strange... it seems you are not on the list."

_Uh oh._

I try to chuckle convincingly. "Well, it could probably be an error. Those things happen, right? Ahahaha..." I rub the nape of my neck.

Goodwitch hums in thought. "That may be the case... We will need to find an empty bed for you... Ah. Here. If you would follow me please." Keeping her eyes on her Scroll at all times, she leaves, assuming that I will follow her... which I do.

"The student here was caught faking his transcripts, and thus was rejected, so we do have an open slot for you." Deleting the slot, Goodwitch adds in my first name to the bed chart, and leaves without saying a word. I blink to myself.

_What the hell...? Where's the teacher-student confidentiality...? Uh well, never mind that._

Sitting slowly onto the bed, I test the compression by bouncing up and down. I smile. Just the way I like it.

However, it is still relatively early, and I pass the time by napping a bit, sleeping above the covers. Again, I am rudely awakened by a loud brash voice.

"It's like a big slumber party!"

Cracking open an eye, I turn my head sideways, seeing Ruby and Yang talking to each other. I groan, taking my pillow and shoving it onto my face.

"Aha~! I forgot how cuuuute you look in your pajamas!" Yang gushes at Ruby. She clasps her hands together and sways like a romantic.

She is shut up with a pillow to the face. "Shut it! I look pretty normal in this." Ruby angrily replies.

Her sister flops onto the bed, shaking her legs back and forth. After a brief moment of silence, Yang notices Ruby writing on a piece of paper. "Oh? What's this?"

"A letter to my friends back at Signal. I _did_ promise to tell them how things are going." Ruby taps her pencil against her lips, thinking of how to write about her day.

_Huh, that sounds like a good idea. I'd like to keep a journal..._

Yang launches herself at Ruby, tackling her in a hug. "Awwww~, that's sooooo cuuuute~!"

Ruby repeatedly hits Yang in the back, causing her sister to laugh. "Stop it! I didn't get to take any of my friends with me! It's so weird not knowing anybody in this school!"

Yang jumps in Ruby's face. "Hey, why are you so grumpy tonight? You already made two friends."

Ruby looks positively horrified. "You call them friends!? Um, I mean... one of them I can call a friend."

"You mean Noct, right!? That's plus one friend!" With the mention of my name, I slowly sink into the covers.

"Yeah, and Weiss probably counts as a negative friend! Back to zero..." Ruby rolls onto her bed.

Yang's demeanor softens. "Look, Rubes, Weiss probably hates your guts right now, true, but you'll never know if you can become friends for life!"

Ruby's voice cracks. "How the heck can you think that'll happen? She just kept yelling at me even after I said sorry. So, she's supposed to be a 'heiress' or something. Totally the wors-"

"I can hear you, you know."

Ruby slowly turns her gaze and looks mortified when she realizes that Weiss was right next to her all along. She was busy brushing her ice white hair.

"AHH! What the heck are you doing here!? Don't bunk next to me!" Ruby jumps away and hides behind Yang.

"Do you really believe that I _chose_ to sleep here?" Weiss retorts, a little bit of contempt seeping into her words.

"Hey, now..." Yang begins, already fearing for the worst.

"What are you two doing?"

My eyes widen slightly under the pillow. _That voice. She finally shows up._

_"_Honestly, You're both like cats and dogs." Blake Belladonna, the faunus, looks up from the book she was reading. Her amber eyes analyze the three girls next to her.

Weiss's eyebrow twitches and she opens her mouth. "You! Who do you think you are-"

Yang steps between them, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to start over. "Hey, everyone just chill out for a second."

The four girls turned silent, and Yang cleared her throat. "Now, it's obvious that Fate keeps bringing us back together, so let's make up and reintroduce ourselves!"

Blake flips a page in her book. "That might work... but I have never seen you before in my entire life until now."

Yang laughs nervously before whispering in Ruby's ear. "Psst! Hey! You know where Noct is right now?"

Ruby whispers back in equal force. "Why would you think I would know?"

"I dunno! So we can all introduce ourselves!"

I stay as still as possible.

_Please don't see me please don't see me please don't see me-_

"Hmm... Knock, knock, open up!" Someone aggressively pokes at the pillow.

_If I don't move... she won't be able to see me._

"Hellooo~! Anybody in there?"

Suddenly, my pillow is pulled up away from my arms, and the sudden change in light causes me to wince.

"Aha! I knew it!" Yang smiles and places my pillow at the end of my bed.

"I guess Fate really did bring us together!" I yelp when Yang roughly pulls on my arm and drags me across to her bed.

...

_Not like that!_

Plopping me down like a ragdoll, I sit up and glare at Yang, who only replies by giving me a cheeky smile.

Rolling my eyes, I freeze when they meet Weiss's. She looks like she wants to maul me to tiny little itty bitty pieces.

"You... You dare show your face here!?" Weiss turns red and is about to throttle me as I glare back at her with equal contempt.

"Yeah. What the hell are you gonna do about it?" I say, my mouth running faster than my brain.

Weiss begins seething, steam about to rise from her head. She sputters, shaking in anger.

"Hey hey hey, calm down, you two. Gods, you act like you did something terrible to each other." Yang tries to defuse the situation, to no avail.

"Oh, you have _no idea_, you blonde bimbo." Weiss insults her, crossing her arms and glaring.

_God damn, she is making it so hard for me to like her. Volume 1 Weiss was seriously a bitch._

Yang's smile twitches, and she pretends she didn't hear that, chuckling nervously. "So, uh, about our introductions?" With no objections, Yang begins with herself. A giant smile spreads across her face, flashing her teeth in all its glory. She waves at us. "My name is Yang Xiao Long!"

She then points to Ruby, who is still hiding behind her. "And... the little one's Ruby Rose. She's my sister. Don't ask."

Weiss straightens her back. "I..." She glares at me before turning away with a snooty 'hmph!'. "I am Weiss Schnee. Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. Be sure to remember that."

"Oh, I'll remember that, _princess_." I mutter, a bit of malice leaking into the last word. Weiss snaps her head towards me. I pretend like I didn't say a word.

"Wow, like a real life princess. So aborable~" Yang comments, garnering a look from the heiress.

"My name is Noctis Fleuret. It's nice to meet you all." I make sure I don't look at Weiss.

"And you are...?" Yang fishes for a name.

"Blake..." She introduces herself curtly.

"Belladonna." She finishes.

...

"I read books." She whispers as a final comment.

I narrow my eyes, imagining her in her huntress outfit. If I recall correctly, she wears a white sleeveless undershirt, underneath a black coat-tailed vest. She also has white shorts, and purplish-black stockings reaching up and connecting to her shorts, along with heeled boots. Of course, in her sleepwear, the bow still stays on top of her head, covering her secret.

...

Yang stretches her arms out in victory. "There. Now we're all friends now! Sorry for pushing you all, though, hahaha!"

Weiss gives a death glare to Ruby. "So... Rose."

I cringe. If someone uses your last name to speak to you... Uh, I don't even know what to say except... Wow, you're fucked.

"A grade skipper, then? I personally can't see anything about you that would even warrant cutting out two years of your education."

Ruby seems affronted by her statement. "Okay, so?"

Weiss smirks, examining her nails. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if you even had any real goals in becoming a huntress, even though you want to be one so badly."

"Oh, cut it out you two." I yawn loudly, angering Weiss somewhat. I smile.

"Why do I want to become a huntress...?" Ruby mutters, actually thinking over the question.

"It's because I have a dream. A dream to become the world's greatest hero, a hero that saves everybody. Just like in the stories I read." Ruby repeats what she told me on the bench during the morning.

"I don't care what anyone thinks about me, or my dream. All that matters, is that I know what I want to do. And that is to be a hero."

...

The three girls all look at Ruby with varying levels of surprise, not expecting her to say something like that.

Of course, Yang takes this opportunity to tease Ruby. "Ahhh~ Ruby! I didn't know you grew up so fast! Well, take me along for the ride, 'cause we'll be huntresses together~!" She grabs Ruby in another tight hug, crushing her lungs.

Blake lets a little tiny smile cross her lips for a second. And I laugh to myself, my laughter gradually growing louder, amused by the two sister's actions. That is, until the clicking sound of heels approaches from behind us-

"YOU FIVE! ENOUGH WITH THE NOISE!"

—o—

**A/N: Well, I just wanted to rewrite this chapter. I felt like the original followed canon too closely, and I also noticed how robotic and forced the dialog in every scene was.**


	3. Initiation

Chapter 3: Initiation

—o—

**April 2**

**07:51**

**Beacon Academy Ballroom**

"It's morning, it's morning, it's morning, it's morning~"

I groan and roll away from the noise. "Ughhhh, five more minutes…" I yawn and sit up straight.

As my consciousness slowly comes back online, I freeze momentarily, the events of yesterday rushing back into my mind.

_I guess that really wasn't a dream. I'm actually on Remnant._

Pinching myself to confirm that I really am experiencing this, I grimace as I recall how careless I was regarding interacting with team RWBY. Cursing to myself, I get up, surveying the room in the process.

Weiss is already up and in her huntress outfit, while Ruby and Yang are just waking up themselves. I silently leave the dance hall without attracting the attention of the girls. I head to the washroom to brush my teeth, which took a while, as I never bothered to remember where it was, and I promptly change back into my hunter clothes, which were conveniently washed. I pat myself down and pull on my glove to seat it tightly against my skin. I head to the mess hall, careful to avoid the girls when they walk down the hallway.

**08:13**

**Beacon Academy Cafeteria**

Looking at the menu, it's pancakes. Right. I should've remembered. Waiting in line, I grab a tray and some food. Standing in a somewhat empty space of the room, I scan it for an empty seat. My eyes land next to... Pyrrha Nikos.

I blink.

_Uh... What do I..._

Turning around, I bump into...

Oh my god.

The person in front of me is wearing full body armor, covering him from neck to toe, a large yellow bird symbol on the chestplate. A mace is attached to his hip. He has orange brown hair, purplish blue eyes, and a terrible grin on his face.

It's Cardin Winchester.

_...If he actually starts bullying me, I am going to kill myself._

The towering boy smirks and pushes me roughly, causing me to fall to the floor on my face.

_...Someone please kill me._

Turning over onto my back, I stare at his upside down face, and he crosses his arms and laughs his terrible guffaw, walking away. "Watch where you're going, punk."

I sigh, closing my eyes and running a hand over my face.

_At least he didn't escalate._

I wince a bit as I make to sit up from the floor with my elbows. Before I can stand, a shadow obscures my vision, and I look up to see the cause.

"Are you alright?" A girl leans down, her face finally registering in my vision. Blake. Her purple cat eyeshadow accentuates her eyes.

I groan, leaning my head back, cradling my nose.

"I'm doing... just fine." Blake opens up her hand, gesturing for me to grab onto. With a breath, I clasp my hand onto hers, and she pulls me up. Clumsily, I almost fall into her, our faces flushing as our bodies almost touch. I play it off and turn away from her before coughing into my fist. Looking at the floor, my face falls and I let out a disappointed 'aw' as I realize my plate fell when Cardin pushed me down, and the contents of it spilled onto the floor.

Picking up the plastic plate, I discard it into the washing bin before grabbing a handful of napkins to pick up the soggy food. I pause when Blake does the same, and she pauses when she realizes I paused. I tilt my head at her questioningly, and she shrugs, before kneeling down and helping me clean up.

Shaking my head, I kneel down and clean up as well, both of us finishing in a few moments.

Straightening my legs, I dust off my hands and turn to Blake. Looking into her eyes for a few moments, I nod deliberately in appreciation, a little twitch on my lips.

"...Thanks." I point behind me with a thumb. "Well, I guess I should-"

"Heyoooo~! Noooct! Oh! And you too, Blakey!" Yang's clear voice cuts through the cacophony of voices in the cafeteria. She is sitting at a mostly empty table with her sister, Ruby, who is busy poking at her food. She waves at us with gusto.

I freeze and my eye twitches in annoyance.

_Can't I just go one day. One. Day. Without talking to these people?_

Arguing with myself whether or not I should even acknowledge Yang, I have this dilemma solved for me when she comes up behind me and Blake, forcefully dragging us to her table. The only other person at the table with her is Ruby.

Stumbling a bit when Yang lets go, I huff before taking a seat across from Ruby, with Blake sitting next to me.

"Good morning." Blake says, at least acting cordially.

"Morning." I dole out, still a bit tired. I fidget in place as the three girls begin eating their breakfast silently. Ruby with her giant stack of cookies. Yang with her giant stack of pancakes. And Blake with a reasonable amount. And me with nothing.

Ruby is the first to notice that I don't have a tray of food in front of me.

"Ehh? Noctis, where's your food?" I lower my head, my bangs covering my eyes.

"Wasn't hungry." I lie easily. Blake shoots a dirty look at me, which I catch from the corner of my eye.

"Noctis. He was out of line. You know that, so don't lie."

_...Et tu, Blake?_

Ruby tilts her head. "Who?"

"That bully. I couldn't catch his name, but he pushed Noctis to the floor." Blake recounts tonelessly.

Yang punches her fists together and grins widely. "Alright then. We'll break his legs!" She says predictably.

Lowering my head in shame, I sigh to myself. I've been sighing a lot these past days.

A cookie slips its way into my view. Then another.

Looking up, I see Ruby reaching across the table with her hands, cookies in her palms. I blink slowly.

"I'm sorry about your breakfast... but I-I'll feel bad when you go to Initiation on an empty stomach... so, here you go!" She nods at me with a bright smile, moving her arms up and down to catch my attention.

"O-Oh. Ah, thanks... Ruby." Awkwardly, I reach my hands out, and Ruby drops the cookies in her hand into mine. Staring down at the chocolate chips, I begin munching on them.

...

_They're... actually pretty good._

"Ahaha Ruby! You're such a good friend! Just what I'd expect from you!" Yang squeals, hugging Ruby from the side, tickling her.

"Yang, stooooooop~!" Ruby giggles hysterically, her eyes closing and tearing up.

_Just looking at the two sisters... it makes me feel... I don't know._

I smile sadly. Ruby and Yang tease and poke each other incessantly, their conversation muffles as I think.

_Just knowing what will happen after Volume 3... I wish they can stay like this..._

_Having the knowledge to change things sucks so bad... What the hell do I do...? I can't just tell them... Can I...? Will they even believe me?_

I clench my hand into a fist and bite my lip. I finish up the last cookie, wiping off the stains from my mouth. With the bell ringing, I stand up and leave without saying a word. Ruby and Yang don't notice me leave, but Blake turns to look at my back, an unsure look on her face. Making up her mind, she slinks away from the oblivious sisters, whom are still busy teasing each other.

Catching a shadow in the corner of my eye, I dismiss it at first. But then I round the corner and-

"Noctis, what are you doing?" Blake asks me.

I sigh. "What do you think? I'm going to the locker room to get ready." I am about to move past her, but she stops me with a hand. I click my tongue impatiently.

"Are you okay? Look, I... I haven't known you for very long, but I know when something's not right. What's wrong?" Blake's voice is sincere, a total 180 from her regular sarcastic tone.

"Blake... Look... it's nothing. Nothing that you can help me on, anyway. Not... not yet." I tell her, subtly hinting at something more.

The girl hesitates for a bit, but relents anyway, sighing. "I won't push you... but you can let me know if you need to talk..."

A shadow falls over my face and I shove my hands into my pockets. Without saying goodbye, I leave Blake standing alone in the middle of the hallway. She lets out a breath and begins walking away, the click of her heels slowly disappearing in the crowd. Palming my face, I enter the locker room. It's packed.

**08:36**

**Beacon Academy Locker Rooms**

Sitting down on the bench, I look up towards the ceiling. Blinking slowly, I gather my thoughts. Closing my eyes, I lower my head and heave a breath through my nose.

A shadow falls over my face. I look up.

"Ah, it's the punk." I meet the face of Cardin.

_Great... Just who I wanted to see. _I grumble sarcastically.

Cardin smirks his terrible smirk and grabs hold of me by my collar. A bored look crosses my face, and my head lolls backward. What a waste of time.

"Say, I don't think I was thorough enough with you back there in the cafeteria. Looks like I have to teach you a lesson." His smile widens.

_Are you actually serious? Is he actually bullying me... for the sake of bullying me?_

_..._

_Don't answer that question._

"I don't have time for this shit." I mutter.

Cardin pulls my collar again, invading my personal space. "What was that? You have something to say to me?"

With a lethal stare, I look at Cardin. "I said, I don't. Have time. For your bullshit."

Cardin blinks momentarily before laughing out loud. "Ha! Get a load of this guy! You're a funny dude." He shakes my limp body.

"Let go of me." I simply say.

"What?"

Clenching my fists and growling, I yell at him. "I said LET GO!"

With a burst of strength I didn't know I had, I grab on his arm, causing him to let go of my collar in surprise. Turning around, I pull hard, throwing him across my back and across the room. He hits the floor with a flash of Aura and rolls to a stop with a loud thud. A crowd that gathered during this altercation whispers loudly around me.

...

I stare at my hands and back at Cardin's groaning figure. My eyes widen as tunnel vision sets in.

"Shit."

Gathering my bearings, I slowly backpedal and quickly run outside, fearing what Cardin will do to me when he gets up. Running as fast as I can, I round a corner and hide inside a part of the wall that juts inward, holding my breath in. After a few excruciating seconds, Cardin stomps past the indentation in the wall without finding me. Waiting a few more moments as his footsteps fade away, I slowly detach myself from the wall and let go of the breath.

"Are you okay?"

I snap my head towards the voice.

"That person looked quite angry with you." A red haired girl smiles at me.

_Pyrrha..._

I memorize her appearance. Pyrrha is pale, with green emerald eyes, accentuated with green eyeshadow. She is dressed in her hunter attire. Pyrrha wears what seems to be a leather corset, and a bronze choker. Her gloves reach to the middle of her bicep, and she has a bracer on her left arm. She also wears a red sash wrapped around her mini skirt. Her armor consists of greaves that start from the middle of her thighs and reach all the way down to her boots. The boots in question are brown and are heeled.

A scoff interrupts my inner monologue. "That brute? He looks angry with everyone."

_Out of the frying pan and into the fire..._

Weiss finally notices my appearance and she growls. "You! Argh, you'll pay for what you said!"

Pyrrha stops her from approaching me, softly grabbing at her arm. Weiss opts to glare at me silently, which I return in favor.

Pyrrha shushes Weiss before turning to me with a smile and a tiny bow. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

"...Okay." I say dumbly. "I'm Noctis Fleuret. Call me Noct if you want."

...

"You don't even know who she is? Pathetic." Weiss crosses her arms and looks at me incredulously.

"Should I _care_?" I say, kicking my boots at the ground. _I already know who she is, but I'm not giving you the satisfaction._

Weiss grits her teeth. "She's Pyrrha Nikos!" Weiss brings up her hands to count off Pyrrha's achievements. "She graduated at the top of her class at Sanctum! She's a fourth-time champion in the Mistral Regional Tournament! And she's even on the packaging of Pumpkin Pete's!"

Pyrrha stands in place, fidgeting and blushing at Weiss's praise, not sure what to do.

I slowly blink. "What's a Pumpkin Pete?" I say, legitimately not knowing what she is referring to.

"...You...! You are impossible!" Weiss gives up, getting angrier and angrier.

_...Seriously, what's a Pumpkin Pete?_

Weiss tries ignoring me, putting up a false smile and addressing Pyrrha. "Well, I hope we can be on a team together. Personally, you're my top pick, and I doubt I'm the only one."

Pyrrha smiles again. "I'm honored you think so."

With a loud tone of feedback, the PA system springs to life. Professor Goodwitch speaks through a microphone. "Would all freshmen please proceed to Beacon Cliff? The Initiation is about to begin. I repeat, all freshmen report to Beacon Cliff, the Initiation is about to begin." With a sound as if a phone is hung up, the speaker turns off.

I frown.

—o—

**09:00**

**Beacon Cliff**

I follow Weiss and Pyrrha as they both chat with each other. Finally reaching Beacon Cliff, Professor Goodwitch has us stand on platforms that would be launching us into the Emerald Forest. I'm at the far right of the middle row. Looking around, I see way more students than was in the show. There are people ahead and behind us. The rows are significantly longer as well. Professor Ozpin, with his mug in hand, and Goodwitch at his side, clears his throat and begins his speech. His loud booming voice washes over the crowd.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated. In this Initiation, you will make your way to the temple ruins within the Emerald Forest, and retrieve a relic." The headmaster pushes up his glasses.

"However, these woods are filled to the brim with Grimm. Each a threat in their own right. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you _**will **_die." Ozpin's tone of voice makes it clear that he is not joking.

With a small smile, he continues, the dark atmosphere disappearing almost immediately. "Naturally, you will be monitored and graded, but... do not expect any assistance, if at all. It is up to you, and you alone, to ward off any and all dangers." With a final adjustment of his glasses, Ozpin stands back, allowing for Goodwitch to take over.

"You may have heard the rumors of the formation of teams." She begins. Ruby, who I just notice is right next to me, rocks back and forth on her feet in anticipation.

"They are all true." Ruby almost begins celebrating. "However, the deciding factor of your teams will be the results of your performance during the Initiation. Pairing up will not be a requirement. It will be a **_necessity_** for your survival. So don't think about who you would like to team up with too much." Goodwitch dispenses the cold hard truth. Ruby and Weiss deflate like a balloon, though for differing reasons.

"Any questions?" Ozpin asks. Total silence answers him.

"Hm. Very good. Now, on your marks."

Slowly, one by one, from left to right, row by row, students are launched off the cliff with extreme speed. I shuffle my feet as adrenaline and heartrate amp up accordingly. Suddenly Ozpin makes eye contact with me.

"Ah, Mr. Fleuret. We will be meeting after the Initiation. Is that clear, young man?" He frowns at me.

My eyes subtly widen. _Does he know?_

I answer his question. "Uh... crystal cleEEEAARRRR!?" Right as I began speaking, I am launched in the air, the extreme G forces warping the skin on my face, causing it to flap around. I begin screaming like a little girl.

"FUUUUUUUU-" My voice slowly gets quieter and quieter as I blast away from the cliff.

Goodwitch looks at my vanishing form on the horizon. "Are you sure about this, sir? He may get hurt."

"To be perfectly honest, Glynda," Ozpin takes off his glasses and wipes it thoroughly. He replaces them on the bridge of his nose, the sun flashing them opaque momentarily.

"I have no idea."

—o—

"-UUUUUUUUUCK!" Flailing my arms, I almost start crying.

"No doubt about it, I think I'm going to die!" I yell out to nobody in particular. I continue flailing, and I spin around in freefall. Every second, I fall closer and closer to the treeline, almost about to clip the branches.

_I'm fucked. I'm totally fucked._

_This is it... I'm going to die. Again._ I close my eyes in anticipation.

Suddenly, the sound of a rocket propeller slowly increases in volume behind me.

"What is tha-" I begin, immediately silenced by a sharp object attaching itself in my collar. With my trajectory changed, it begins to guide itself towards the nearest tree.

"Oh no."

Hurtling towards the tree, I angle my neck so that the spear, now that I could see part of it, could hit the tree bark and not my spine. Luckily, the spear embeds itself into the bark, and pulls me into a dead stop. You know Newton's third law of motion. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. With double the G forces I experienced at launch, I... pass out. Hanging from a tree.

Yeah.

—o—

**09:10**

**Emerald Forest**

"...where... you going... teammates..." Muffled speech rings in my ears.

Regaining consciousness and control of my muscles, my eyes slowly open and my neck creaks at the position its held in. I have a killer headache.

_How long... how long have I been out?_

Groaning slightly, I cradle the side of my head before forcing myself to not slip into unconsciousness again. After a while of collecting my marbles, I look down, seeing Weiss walking away under my view, probably from Ruby.

"I am a Schnee... I must have the perfect partner..." Weiss disappears behind the brush after that.

_Looks like she didn't notice me..._

I begin twiddling my thumbs before trying to remove the spear from the tree. Grunting with effort, I quickly give up that endeavor, and just slip off my jacket from my shoulders, causing me to fall down to the forest floor. Absorbing the force of falling with my legs with a grunt, a jolt of pain rockets upwards. I fall to my hands and knees, rolling on the ground before I land on my back.

I only have to spend a few minutes wallowing in my own despair before a bush rustles from my peripheral vision. I follow the mass in the corner of my eyes until I can finally see what they look like. Bright, red hair comes into view as Pyrrha steps forward, and she stares me down from above.

"Do you need any help?" She asks me rhetorically, a small grin on her face.

She takes a few seconds to be amused by my predicament before using her Semblance to take her spear back, my jacket fluttering down to the floor. That is, before Pyrrha catches it.

I sit up on my behind and Pyrrha hands me my jacket.

"So... do you have a spot on your team?" She smiles disarmingly.

Taking my jacket from her hands, I quickly put it on, lifting my arm up and pulling on the front of the jacket to slide my arm through the hole.

"Sure." I answer curtly, still a bit miffed at being knocked out by a tree. Pyrrha puts out a hand for me to grab on. With a raised eyebrow, I clasp my gloved hand around hers, pulling myself up off the forest floor with her help.

Shrugging my shoulders and dusting off the back side, I address Pyrrha.

"So we'll be working together?"

"Of course. The Grimm are a threat; it would be wise to team up." Pyrrha replies.

I nod understandingly. "Right... we should get moving, it's probably not safe to stay in one location. Let's go find the relics, or something." I gesture for her to follow, and she does so, jogging slightly to catch up by my side.

With a moment of clarity, I dig out my Scroll from my pocket, and bring up the compass app on it. Spinning in place, the compass finally points north, and I breathe out of my nose in satisfaction.

"Let's move out, Pyrrha."

"I'm right behind you, Noctis."

—o—

Since Pyrrha's the only one with weapons, I am relegated to being a scout, making sure we aren't walking into a death trap. Pyrrha travels ahead of me, clearing the way with a few slices of her xiphos, _Miló._ Suddenly, a few explosions crack out in the distance. Pyrrha reacts by stopping in place and readying her blade for combat. I just jump at the loud noise.

With a sigh of relief, I tell Pyrrha, "It's just gunfire."

Pyrrha relaxes her stance and puts away her shield, _Akoúo̱_. "It seems our comrades have encountered an enemy." Pyrrha continues slicing at the undergrowth, pushing away larger branches too thick to be cut.

"It'll be best if we follow those shots. That seems like the best course of action." Pyrrha explains.

I gulp silently. _Yeah... follow the gunshots, where people are fighting Grimm... I've got a bad feeling about this._

Not paying attention, I follow Pyrrha right as she pulls back a branch. My eyes widen as the branch rebounds, racing right towards my face. Ducking underneath it, I immediately eat shit as I trip over an exposed root. Straight towards a rock.

_Fuck._

I hit my head against it with a sickening crack, and I yelp when a sharp pain stabs into my forehead. All I hear is a loud ringing, and my vision goes bright, causing me to hiss. Picking myself up, I stumble away from the bloodied rock and I sink to the ground. Pyrrha, who stopped and turned at the noise, gasps and runs to my prone body.

"Noctis! Are you alright!? What happened?"

_Ah, dammit... the ringing... the ringing just won't stop..._

With a guttural groan, I slowly remove my bloodied hands from my forehead, Pyrrha flinching a bit at the excessive blood. Kneeling down, she turns me onto my back and runs her hand over my hair, pulling it back from the sticky mess that is my forehead.

"Why... Why didn't you activate your Aura?" Pyrrha's voice is noticeably jaded.

I mumble out an answer. "I don't... I don't think I have... any..."

She lets out a shaky breath before adjusting her posture to better look at me. With a tone of finality, she speaks. "Alright. Close your eyes. I'll activate your Aura."

I mumble a little 'Sorry' as my eyes flutter shut. Pyrrha places her gloved hand on my cheek before closing her eyes as well. She begins the chant to unlock my Aura.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." A warm feeling spreads through my body. Pyrrha places her other hand on my chest. "Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

Gasping, I open my eyes as I feel the wound on my forehead slowly closing. Pyrrha is doubled over me and breathing heavily.

"Ah... Pyrrha...?" I start.

She places her hands on her lap, straightening her back and taking a deep breath. "I'll be fine. I used my Aura to unlock yours, but… the energy that protects you now is your own…" She takes a few more breaths before smiling at me, exhausted.

"You have a lot of it."

It's like I can feel my skin closing up. I wince a bit as my skin basically stretches over the wound and heals it with no scarring. Hesitantly, I reach my bloody hand up to my forehead, doing a double take as no more fresh blood seeped out. I still hiss a bit at the tenderness. Looking down at the palms of my red hands, a faint blue glow surrounds my body.

_This must be my Aura._

It fades as quickly as it appeared, and I begin rubbing off my forehead and hands of dried blood. Accepting Pyrrha's hand, I pull myself up and dust off my clothes.

"Thank you... Pyrrha."

"It's fine." She brushes it off and starts walking away, continuing to clear out more brush.

I am about to start following her, but suddenly, a loud glass-like explosion fills my ears, and a bright blue crystalline blade materializes, spinning like a top and orbiting me. The flash of light forces me to shield my eyes, the effect akin to a flashbang.

"What the-!?"

Pyrrha turns her head, but doesn't look back at me. "Is something wrong?" She asks.

I shake my head. "Uh... it's... it's nothing." Pyrrha continues moving, and disappears behind the treeline.

I rub my eyes to clear my vision of stars.

The translucent blade continues orbiting me, but at a much slower pace than before. With a hesitant motion, I make to grab at the hilt of the sword with my left hand. My eyes widen as the blade takes on a more opaque and more colorful appearance, the weight of it almost making me fall. Adjusting my grip, pointing the sharp edge away from me, mind you, I hold it up, before dropping the blade down softly on my gloved right hand.

It's around the size of a broadsword, if I had to guess. The handle is wrapped in black grip tape, the crossguard a dull golden sheen. The blade itself is wider than the average broadsword, single edged as well, like a katana. It has a straight back, and an unusual curvature to it, like a subdued sine wave, reaching to a tip at the top of the blade. It emits a glowing, silver sheen, a reflection of Remnant's sun.

_...Is this my Semblance? No way..._

I grip the handle tighter, a smile spreading across my lips.

_If this is how it is... then I guess I know what else is in store..._

I begin laughing, starting slowly at first, then reaching a fever pitch before Pyrrha pokes her head out from behind the trees.

"What are you doing?"

I immediately shut my mouth and let go of the grip, the sword exploding into tiny blue crystals, and glowing a bit before disappearing. "Don't worry about it." I deflect miserably.

She tilts her head in a 'Really?' expression before turning back around and disappearing behind the trees. Guess she didn't see the light show.

With a little sigh, I reach my hand out again, thinking of my weapon before making a grabbing motion, pleased when the sword predictably forms in my hand. Testing the weight, I spin it around with a flick of my wrist, a low hum resonating from the blade. With a small breath, I raise my sword up in a throwing motion.

_Well... it won't hurt to try._

I chuck the sword at a tree, the blade flying straight as an arrow, and embedding itself into the trunk, splintering the wood.

...

_Is... something supposed to happen now or-_

I yelp when a cold feeling punches me in the stomach and hooks me forward. Closing my eyes on instinct, my skin freezes as I experience a brief moment of vertigo. I lurch forward and come to a stop as my brain struggles to catch up with the rest of my body. The distinct shattering of crystals fills my ears as I come to a stop, my hand unconsciously closed around the grip of my sword, still stuck in the tree. Slowly opening my eyes, I turn around, noticing some residue of blue crystals falling to the floor behind me, disintegrating in seconds. I smile.

_Amazing... if this is how I think it works..._

I begin pondering the events that transpired just now. I shake my head with a small smile.

_Summoning... and teleportation. This shit is so overpowered._

I pull the blade out of the bark and throw the sword behind me, the unmistakable shattering of crystals announcing its departure from reality. My sense of curiosity fading, I finally notice how tired I feel, and taking a look at my Scroll confirms my suspicions. My Aura levels have dropped significantly, a large chunk taken out of it, though the bar still remains green. With a click of my tongue, I pocket my Scroll before trying to slow my breathing, and start jogging to catch up to Pyrrha.

—o—

**09:43**

**Beacon Cliff**

Atop the cliff overseeing the Emerald Forest, the crunching of boots on grass disturbs the quiet ambience. Professor Glynda Goodwitch strolls up behind Headmaster Ozpin, Scroll in hand.

"Our last pair has been formed, sir." She begins courteously, catching Ozpin's attention. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren." Goodwitch swipes the screen to a drone following them, manually overriding the auto-flight. Nora is riding an Ursa while Ren follows her from above, tree hopping from branch to branch. "They seem to be a good match. Their prior relationship will a boon for them."

"Hm." Ozpin hums off-handedly.

Goodwitch presses a few buttons on her Scroll, shifting to a different camera.

"Pyrrha Nikos and… Noctis Fleuret." She pauses in thought before looking towards Ozpin. "Sir, are you absolutely sure about this?"

Ozpin stands in silence and glances at Goodwitch. "Of course not." He says bluntly. "But what is life without a little risk?" He takes a large sip of his drink, possibly to annoy Goodwitch.

Glynda raises an eyebrow at this, and sighs deeply before turning back to her Scroll. Ozpin's eccentricity knows no bounds.

The headmaster lowers his mug and his expression softens. "Please don't worry, Glynda. I will judge his performance. If he does not perform to my standards…" He shifts his glasses and turns away. "Well, perhaps I was wrong." He looks back to his scroll, switching viewpoints from Ruby and Weiss to Pyrrha and Noctis. A black shadow dances around the edge of the two, all parties unaware of it.

Glynda sighs and closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Opening her eyes, she turns away from the cliff drop. "At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes."

Ozpin nods silently, swiping at his Scroll. "Very well. Keep me updated, Glynda."

"By your command, Professor."

—o—

**A/N: Sorry about the length of this chapter. Thinking of splitting the Initiation Arc into two chapters. AP exams are also not helping.**


	4. The Emerald Forest

Chapter 4: The Emerald Forest

—o—

**April 2**

**10:01**

**Emerald Forest**

"That insufferable little...! Ugh!" Weiss Schnee mutters angrily, her heels stomping noticeable holes into the dirt she is walking over.

"Hey! Wait! Where are you going!?" Ruby Rose yells out at the heiress.

With another angry huff, and some grinding of teeth, Weiss speeds up her pace, eager to get away from Ruby. Another yell comes from behind her, but Weiss opts to ignore it.

With her sense of direction, the heiress almost manages to lose Ruby and starts marching north towards the temple ruins, not paying attention to her surroundings. It only takes a few dozen seconds for a large shadow to block the sun shining behind her, and engulfing her form. Weiss stops in her tracks, a hand hovering over the hilt of her weapon.

"I am in a terrible mood right now..." Weiss glowers. With practiced ease, she unsheathes her rapier with her left hand, turning around and pointing _Myrtenaster_ at the Ursa, now that she can see it.

"You will have to do." Readying her stance, Weiss turns her fist up, bringing the hilt of her rapier closer to her face, and dropping down to lower her center of gravity. The Ursa responds in kind, bringing up a claw, ready to slash at her.

"Here I come." She announces arrogantly. Right as Weiss pushes off with her feet, a loud roar vibrates the air behind her. Another Ursa jumps at her, which she notices that she can't defend from.

_Another one!?_ Weiss thinks, shocked. She can't do anything. Already in motion, she can't stop herself from rushing forward. Her feet are already off the ground, and the Ursa is getting ever so closer.

_I'm done for... _Weiss is almost about to give up, loosening her grip and closing her eyes.

Suddenly, rose petals flicker in front of her, and a gust of wind almost flings her back, but Weiss persists in her charge of the Ursa. Reinvigorated, she pulses her Aura for a small burst of speed before punching holes into the Ursa in front of her. With a blur of precision, Weiss ends the encounter with a final stab to the Grimm's head, shattering the bone-like mask and impaling the Ursa between the eyes.

Ruby, finally identified, slashes at the Ursa behind Weiss with _Crescent Rose_, bisecting it clean in half. The Grimm dies with a pitiful roar as the upper half of its body travels through the air unopposed by its lower half. It slams into the ground with a squelch. The corpses of the Ursai immediately begin to decompose, the soft flesh melting into a fine black mist. Their skeletons, however, remain intact, though are ignored by the two girls.

"You..." Weiss begins.

Ruby interjects. "Yes. Me."

...

"...You don't have to like me." Ruby says, after a prolonged silence.

"I-" Weiss starts again.

Ruby continues on without interruption. "But we'll have to work together to survive the Initiation. And after this, we're gonna be partners for life! Believe it!" Ruby makes a peace sigh with her fingers, giggling with a cheeky grin.

Weiss flusters at Ruby's outburst.

A pack of Ursai begin emerging from nowhere, seemingly coming into existence from the shadows of the trees. Their light growls cause Weiss and Ruby to ready their weapons again as the pack surround them.

"Ah... even more..." Ruby mutters, her happy tone fading, spinning _Crescent Rose _around like a staff before adjusting her stance and moving closer to Weiss.

"Hmph...If we're going to be partners..." Weiss says, finally getting a word in. Her lips tilt into a tiny smirk.

"Try to keep up."

Ruby gives a genuine smile. The girls huddle closer to cover their backs, weapons at the ready. The group of Ursai growl at them in response. Weiss spins the chamber of _Myrtenaster _while Ruby racks the bolt of _Crescent Rose_.

"That's my line."

—o—

**09:41**

With a loud, pitiful yawn, I stretch my arms out and scratch the back of my neck. Guess the Aura exhaustion is kicking in. Taking another look at my Scroll, I open the Aura monitoring app and check my Aura. Currently, it's hovering around the high 80's. The slow regeneration has me antsy, and I pocket my Scroll before playing with my fingers and taking a deep breath.

Pyrrha and I continue trekking due north through the Emerald Forest. Luckily, we are walking on a dirt path, the maze of the forest a long way behind us. The sharp thud of Pyrrha's heels contrast with the dull stomping of my boots.

I spend this time of momentary peace thinking.

_Let's plot this out. _I begin. Closing my eyes, I draw out a plan. _Significant events... The dance... the Breach... the Fall. Let's start with the dance._

_Okay... I'll have to find a way to stop Cinder from reaching the CCT... or just prevent the virus from deploying. Wait... no I can't. If Cinder gets suspicious, she'll pull back from the plan and I'll be left in the dark... meaning we'll be back at square one, and my knowledge will be useless. _I sigh.

_Maybe I'll just brush up my programming. Take a few classes in programming and self-study as well. Develop an antivirus... or even create a virus of my own... I think about that later._

Back in my old life, I was planning on majoring in computer programming and hardware engineering before well... you know. I died.

I rub my chin. _My knowledge from Earth might not even apply, if Remnant's programming languages are different. Well... still gotta try._

My eyes widen and I stop, kicking up a small cloud of dirt. A small alert sound plays in my head, and a metaphorical red exclamation point appears over my head.

"What was that noise?"

"Huh?" Pyrrha stops as well and turns to me, her hand on the hilt of _Miló_.

"Did you hear that?" I lower my voice to a whisper, straining my ears.

"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha matches my voice level.

The only sounds I can hear are Pyrrha's and my breathing, and the whistling of the wind through the tree branches.

A twig snaps.

"There!" I hiss through my teeth. Pyrrha, on full alert, unsheathes _Miló _and unclips _Akoúo _from her back.

"I hear it." Pyrrha assures me that I'm not going crazy.

She looks at me. "You have a weapon, do you not?"

Staring at my hands, small crystals slowly begin forming in the air, a blue glow lighting my hands. My Aura almost begins to feel suffocating. I take a deep, albeit shaky, breath.

"I do... but I don't know if I can..." I trail off with a gulp. Pyrrha understands immediately, shuffling a bit closer, almost afraid of disturbing the silence.

"Stay close to me, then. Don't do anything reckless. I'll protect you." Pyrrha states confidently, bringing up her shield and raising her sword close to her center. While her words were to reassure me, I just feel even more afraid.

**Space Boy – Dave Rodgers**

I take another shaky breath as adrenaline begins pumping through my veins. My movements become jittery as my eyes dart from left to right, looking for any movement. My sword explodes in front of me, forcing me to squint, and I grab the hilt with two hands, nervously pointing it away from me.

Looking next to me, Pyrrha must've changed her mind, because with a quick motion, her xiphos transforms into what looks to be an M1 Garand. With her shield on her back, Pyrrha possibly plans to pick off the enemy before fighting up close. Smart move.

Rapidly shaking my head, I begin noticing how quiet it became, with the rustling of the trees and the shuffling of footsteps suddenly stopping. My arms tremble in anticipation.

A loud roar breaks the silence and my face twists into a wince as I take a sharp breath. I almost drop my sword to the ground, fumbling with the unfamiliar weight. With a flushed face, I look to Pyrrha to see her reaction.

_Wait what? Why do I care what she thinks?_

Surveying the situation, I commit the scene to memory. My eyes widen, seeing the number of Grimm approaching us. With a quick flyover, I count around... twenty of them. They seem to be Beowolves, based on their hunched statures and masks. They don't immediately attack us, however. They are mostly curious, but seem to mostly be attracted to me. My sweating bullets doesn't help my cause. They snarl at Pyrrha and me.

I am brought out from my thoughts as Pyrrha suddenly starts attacking the massive group of Beowolves, the familiar bark of her Garand almost shattering my eardrums, if not for Aura dampening my hearing. The muzzle flashes bright, and white smoke spills out from the open chamber after each gunshot. Each bullet hits their mark, straight between the Beowolves' red gleaming eyes, cracking masks open and killing the unlucky ones instantly. The group of Grimm roar again in response, quickly turning hostile and rushing towards the two of us.

After eight quick shots, Pyrrha's rifle runs dry, the unmistakable 'ping' announcing her brief vulnerability, the en-bloc ejecting out of the chamber and dropping to the forest ground. In the blink of an eye, she reloads, jamming a clip into the open chamber with her thumb before quickly pulling away as the bolt closes shut.

The Beowolves are rapidly approaching, but Pyrrha gives them no quarter, bringing the rifle close to her cheek, aiming and firing at them again in quick succession, the barrel of _Miló _glowing red hot from the dispersal of heat. These shots, however, hit the Beowolves in non-critical locations, wounding them, though this angers them more than immobilizes them. With a final 'ping' of an empty gun, Pyrrha flips her rifle, transforming it to a spear form. With her display of prowess, I hold my blade out in a stiff stance as the Beowolves approach close enough that her rifle would do no good.

Taking a few moments for the spear to extend, Pyrrha holds it with two hands, intent on using it to thrust and stab, rather than slash. Instinctually, I twirl my sword with a little flourish before dropping it back down towards the threat, my left foot pointed forward and my stance a little more confident than before.

Pyrrha descends upon the Grimm like a god of death, killing Beowolves in a flurry of motion. For one particular Beowolf, she impales it in the chest area, eliciting a pained howl, before skewering another one behind it and twirling around, letting inertia pluck them off the spearhead and flinging the two Grimm towards the crowd, knocking them down like bowling pins.

I stare in utter shock as Pyrrha destroys the Grimm in only a few minutes, the corpses piling up and melting to the ground in a fine mist, leaving behind only skeletons. My jaw hits the floor as I examine Pyrrha's expression. She doesn't even look winded. My sword drops to the ground with a thud when I let go, not even disappearing away as it should. It eventually leaves reality with a crackle when my brain finally starts working again.

Pyrrha closes her eyes and lets out a small breath before sheathing her blade and putting away her shield.

...

"Can you teach me how to do that?" I blurt out suddenly.

Pyrrha looks at me funny before a small smile graces her lips. "Of course. Well, that is, if we get put into the same team."

My expression turns to one of horror.

_Same... team...? Oh no._

I get punched out of my thoughts as another loud roar rings in my ears. Spinning on my heels, a Beowolf has snuck up behind me, though it's a few meters away, far enough that I can defend myself. But it looks... different... somehow.

"Noctis! Look out! That's an Alpha!" Pyrrha starts running over to me, but more Beowolves jump her, forcing her to defend herself. She is cut off from getting to me.

I begin sweating bricks. "A-An Alpha Beowolf, huh?" My lips twitch upward and I chuckle with no force behind it. The Beowolf growls, approaching closer on all four limbs. I gulp.

"N-Nice... doggy." I say, backing away slowly.

This must have been the wrong thing to say, as the Alpha Beowolf lets out an ear-piercing roar, and charges straight at me. My eyes bug out of their sockets.

_That's fast!_

Dodging out of the way with a roll, I clumsily stand back up before summoning my sword. After only a few times of doing so, I feel that I've already gotten the hang of it.

Looking up, the Alpha Beowolf snarls at me, its glowing red eyes piercing into my bright blue eyes. I blink before shifting my feet forward. The Alpha gets on all fours and charges again, which I reciprocate, running towards the Grimm. It takes only a few moments for me to reach it. The Beowolf slashes at me with its claws, which I sidestep, smacking the arm of the Grimm with my blade to keep it away.

Seeing an opportunity, I grab hold of the boney extrusions poking out of the Grimm, and mount it from behind. Jumping up, I plant my feet on the back of the Alpha, and steady myself by tightening my hold. The Alpha Beowolf gets visibly irritated, growling and jumping like a madman to try and shake me off. Gripping tighter, I summon my sword and quickly shove it into the spine of the Grimm, intent on paralyzing it.

I must've missed, as the Alpha only howls louder and redoubles on its efforts of getting me off of itself. I slowly lose my grip as sweat drips in the palm of my hands, and I get thrown off the Grimm with extreme force. A sharp pain erupts in my backside, as I pummel into a tree, knocking the wind out of me. Peeling off of it, I fall to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Noctis!" Pyrrha yells out in vain, only to be beset by even more Grimm than before.

My sword materializes in my hand, and I stab it into the ground for leverage. Standing up with difficulty, I stare down the Alpha Beowolf.

With no plan in particular, I stare it down.

The Alpha Beowolf starts rushing at me without pause. I flick my wrist, my sword jumping into my hand, and I throw it as hard as I can, causing my feet to jump off the floor, leaving me in the air for a few moments. Calling on my Aura, the freezing pain floods my senses again, and my vision goes dark for a nanosecond as I teleport.

The Beowolf cries out in pain, my sword embedded in its face, the tip of the sword poking out of the back of its head. Pausing for a fraction of a second, I kick backwards, tightening my hold on my weapon, the soft squelching of metal on flesh burned into my brain. A wet gurgling leaves the Alpha's maw as it dies a slow painful death.

**END**

I drop to my knees and hands, dry heaving, before my half-digested breakfast spills out onto the forest green. A few rounds of vomiting later, Pyrrha rushes to my side. I wipe my mouth with the crook of my elbow.

"The..." I clear my throat, rubbing at my bruised ribs. "The Grimm..."

"The rest ran away after you killed the Alpha." She smiles at me reassuringly, rubbing my back in comfort. "You did a great job."

I stare at the decomposing corpse of the Alpha, sighing deeply before shakily standing up.

"For your first fight... I think you performed admirably."

I look down. "Thanks... that means a lot."

It really did.

—o—

**09:50**

**Beacon Cliff**

"Hmm..." Ozpin hums for the nth time, looking at his Scroll with thought. His scarf flutters in the air as the wind slowly picks up.

Ozpin exhales a bit from his nose. "Ah. As you see, he has done adequately. For a civilian, he fought quite well." Ozpin smiles softly, glancing knowingly at Goodwitch.

Goodwitch sighs, not denying his statement. She looks at Ozpin, gripping the rim of her glasses between her thumb and forefinger. "What do you propose we do?"

"For now?" Ozpin stops for a moment, contemplating. "Nothing. We shall wait. There's no use worrying about him just yet. Until something new manifests... we will continue on course."

"And that means...?" Glynda fishes for an answer.

"Noctis will be accepted into Beacon. He has performed quite well thus far, judging from Miss Nikos's reaction." Ozpin thumbs his chin. "Requisition supplies for him." He orders. "Uniform, books, stationery. He will need it."

"Of course, sir." Glynda internally sighs at the extra workload, compounded with paperwork regarding student admission. With a small bow, she makes to leave.

Glynda walks away down the sloping decline, leaving the headmaster alone atop Beacon Cliff. He hums methodically, swiping through his Scroll, once again stopping at the camera pointing towards Pyrrha and Noctis. They seem to be having a conversation.

"Noctis Fleuret..." Ozpin softly speaks to himself.

"You are quite an enigma."

—o—

**10:39**

"Uwahhhh! Blaaake, I had that!" Yang complains loudly. Twisting her wrists, _Ember Celica_ transforms back into a harmless-looking pair of bracelets. Throwing her hands in the air, Yang places them behind her head before pacing around aimlessly around a dead, decomposing, Ursa, one that a certain Blake killed just moments before.

"Please be quiet." The faunus girl sheathes _Gambol Shroud _behind her back with purpose before reseating her bow atop her head, a little twitch betraying her true nature. She walks past Yang while rubbing her wrists.

"Have you seen Noctis anywhere?" Blake suddenly asks.

Yang raises an eyebrow, bringing a hand up to play with her bright yellow hair. "No, I haven't. At least, I don't think I did. I was busy fighting those Grimm."

Blake hums in acknowledgement.

"Why are you hung up about him anyway?" Yang asks.

"I'm not." Blake counters defensively. She realizes her mistake and corrects her tone with a small clearing of the throat. "It's because he was acting... odd this morning."

"Oh." Yang pauses for effect. "I guess I didn't notice." She replies truthfully.

"Yes..." Blake nods slowly. "He had this wistful look in his eyes. And it only showed up when he was looking at you and your sister."

Yang scratches her head. "That's... weird. What would make him act like that?"

"I'm not sure. And I plan to find out." Blake abruptly stops speaking, hinting to Yang that the conversation is at an end. The two girls stand a couple of meters away from each other, each unsure of what to do. Yang suddenly grins.

"Sooo... wanna be partners?"

Blake spends a few moments staring, before subtly rolling her eyes, a small smile on her lips. "Fine. Let's go."

Blake quietly walks away, leaving Yang all alone in the forest clearing. Yang pumps her arms in the air, accidentally letting a round loose from her gauntlets. She freezes in place as a small, juvenile Nevermore falls dead onto the dirt floor, a large hole punched through its tiny body.

"...Whoops."

—o—

**10:42**

"Weiss! Wait up!"

The white-haired girl grumbles in annoyance. "Didn't I tell you to 'try to keep up'!?" Weiss raises two fingers on each of her hands and flexes them twice, quoting herself.

Ruby rubs her neck furiously. "I know... I was just busy... with something."

Weiss blinks twice. "...I do not know whether or not I should be curious or afraid."

"Really, Weiss! It was nothing. Don't worry about it." Ruby insists.

"...You are not helping."

Ruby suddenly begins pushing Weiss forward, eliciting a small yelp. Weiss's heels dig into the ground and leave tracks, kicking up loose dirt. "Okay, let's just keep moving!"

"Ruby...! What are you- Get your hands off me this instant!" Weiss raises her voice.

"Nope! We're going on an adventure~!" Ruby says in a sing-song manner, skipping along as Weiss kicks up more dirt.

Weiss sighs and crosses her arms, pouting as she is pushed along like a shopping cart.

This is going to be a long day.

—o—

**10:50**

Weiss examines her nails as Ruby hums a little tune to herself, pushing Weiss forward with no end in sight. Following the dirt path, Ruby meets a fork in the road. Weiss is still busy checking for any imperfections on her hands, and thus does not notice. Rubbing her chin and squinting her eyes, Ruby chooses at random, pushing Weiss left of the fork.

A few minutes later, Ruby comes face to face with a giant rock wall, blocking her path. A large hole is punched out of the wall, pitch black on the inside. Some markings are apparent on the edge of the entrance.

"Woah... what is this?" Ruby stops pushing Weiss forward, and the heiress almost falls backwards, due to Ruby suddenly letting go of her shoulders.

Weiss regains her balance, quickly observing her surroundings before lightly smacking Ruby across the back of her head. "It's a cave, you dimwit."

"...Let's go inside!" Ruby raises her finger skyward and lifts a leg to begin running, but not before Weiss grabs her by the cape. Ruby's legs jump forward, and she falls down onto her butt. Ruby lets out a prolonged cry of pain before rubbing her sore bottom, tears forming on the edge of her eyes.

"Hey, what was that for!?" Ruby glares at Weiss, pouting.

Weiss sighs and shakes her head, slowly raising a finger to point at the markings beside the entrance. Ruby jumps up to take a closer look. It's a cave painting of a Grimm, a Deathstalker to be more exact, attacking what seems to be primitive humans.

"Only an utter imbecile would not notice this." Weiss comments.

—o—

"Achoo!"

"Oi, are you alright? Catch a cold?" I ask, a little bit worried.

Pyrrha shakes her head, sniffling a bit before rubbing her nostrils. "It's fine, Noctis. Somebody must be speaking about me."

A bead of sweat forms on my forehead. _...People have this superstition on Remnant, too? How unusual._

—o—

"Oh yeahhh... I _totally_ saw that." Ruby remarks. She crosses her arms and closes her eyes, and slowly opens one to see Weiss's reaction. The heiress's deadpan expression burrows into Ruby's, and she facepalms, a light slap echoing into the cave entrance.

"Let's leave. There's no point in staying here." Weiss commands.

"Muh? Aren't we gonna fight it?" Ruby innocently asks.

Weiss's eyes bug out of their sockets, and she flails her arms around in protest. "What the-!? Fight it!? Are you insane, Ruby!? We are _not_ fighting a Deathstalker."

"Whaaat? Why not?" Ruby's child-like attitude makes its appearance.

"Do I have to spell it out for you!? It's D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S!" Weiss waggles her finger for every letter.

Ruby raises her own fingers to count the letters Weiss spelled out. After counting 8 of them, Ruby hesitates on raising her 9th finger, stopping to scratch her head. "Wait, how many letters was that again?"

Weiss grinds her teeth and a low growl rumbles her throat. "Stop derailing the conversation. We are leaving, and you will not complain."

Ruby complains. "But-"

"NO BUTS! We are leaving, and that. Is. Final!" Weiss pokes Ruby in the ribs for emphasis, her voice raising louder and echoing further into the cave. A slight rumble staggers the two girls.

With a gulp, Ruby slowly points behind Weiss, a giant shadow covering the girls. A low hissing and clacking of teeth sends shivers down their spines. Weiss slowly turns around, a look of horror on her face, and her eyes wide like saucers. The Deathstalker on the cave painting greets the girls, poising its stinger to attack.

"Behind you..." Ruby whispers her warning, a little too late.

"...Oh gods." Weiss slowly begins reaching for her rapier.

The Deathstalker shrieks in response.

With perfect timing, Ruby activates her super speed Semblance, a cloud of red petals forming, whisking Weiss away right when the Deathstalker attacks. The stinger blurs into action, piercing the ground where Weiss was standing, kicking up mounds of dirt, raining small particles that would have hit Ruby if she was not currently fleeing for her life.

"This is the second time I've saved you!" Ruby ever so _helpfully_ points out while dodging trees, her spindly legs blurring into an unrecognizable smear. Her breathing slightly labored, Ruby runs as fast as she normally can, without using her Semblance.

"My hero. Is this what you wanted?" Weiss grumbles sarcastically, wrapping her arms around Ruby's neck to keep her balance.

The Deathstalker approaches unopposed, trees exploding as the Grimm indiscriminately run them over, not even slowing down. The eight legs of the scorpion rattle as each step brings it closer to Ruby, who lets out a loud 'eep' before increasing her pace.

"On second thought, never mind!" Ruby yells, dodging unfortunately placed tree branches, jumping over exposed roots, and starts making her way to the temple ruins. Calling on her Semblance one more time, Weiss clutches tighter as Ruby blurs into a screw of rose petals, almost uprooting trees she passes. The Deathstalker continues moving in her general direction.

Ruby only has one thought on her mind.

_I hope Yang's doing okay..._

—o—

**A/N: Sorry again for the shorter chapter... but I'm just writing and writing and the chapters keep getting longer and longer. So instead of having one giant chapter, I'll be splitting the Initiation arc into three chapters now.**

**So yeah, my SI got into his first fight, and some events have been changed. Butterfly effect, amirite?**


	5. Silver Sleep

Chapter 5: Silver Sleep

—o—

**April 2**

**11:10**

**Emerald Forest**

"WOOHOO! Now _this_ is what I'm talkin' about!"

Blake stares upwards, awestruck at Yang's antics. Right now, Yang is hanging off a giant Nevermore, whom is currently busy trying to shake her off. The bird Grimm caws in annoyance, doing all kinds of flips and other aerial maneuvers in an effort to dislodge Yang. The girl is having the time of her life, whooping and hollering at the top of her lungs.

Blake cups her mouth and yells out to Yang. "So is there a point to this or are you just going to joyride for the rest of the Initiation!?"

With that reminder, Yang shuts her mouth and starts climbing. Grabbing onto its feathers, Yang takes only a second to reach the top, plopping down onto the backside of the Nevermore. She spreads her feet out like a surfer to keep her balance, and scans the forestry below her.

After a few seconds, she spots a clearing with some stone pillars, and calls out to Blake, cupping her mouth and waving wildly. "I think I see something! Meet you there! Just follow me!"

Yang lets loose a few rounds into the back of the Nevermore, angering it even more, and causing it to shoot forward like a jet. Yang howls and cackles like a madwoman. Large, spiny feathers begin falling towards the ground, embedding themselves in the dirt with a loud thud.

Sighing heavily, Blake closes her eyes, and pinches her nose. She then flickers from view, vanishing into the treetops. A small gust of wind kicks up the grass where she once was.

As Blake hops from tree branch to tree branch, she keeps her gaze steadily below her, following the shadow the Nevermore makes. Yang's loud hollering rings in her ears, even though she should be hundreds of meters in the air. Shaking her head, Blake increases her pace, clearing two or three trees at once. In under five minutes, Blake finally comes to a clearing, a large stone structure in the middle, and spots a hill straight in front of her.

Blake unsheathes _Gambol Shroud_, stabbing it into a tree and grabbing onto the string on the hilt. Pulling it taut, she snaps to a stop, wrapping around a branch to bleed off momentum. After a few passes, she suddenly pulls on the ribbon, dislodging her sword from the bark, snatching it back into her hand and jumping away, landing quietly on the grassy hill.

With a deliberate motion, Blake positions her blade above her metal sheath, letting go and dropping it inside smoothly, the guard hitting the sheath with a satisfying click. Looking up, Yang jumps off the Nevermore. The blonde girl fires rapidly at the floor, using the recoil to slow her descent. With one more blast behind her, Yang raises her arms to her face to push off into a roll.

Standing back up with a few hops, Yang dusts off her jacket. "Awww yeah. Totally nailed that." She comments, flashing a thumbs up at Blake.

Blake, again, rolls her eyes and walks past her towards the structure in the middle of the clearing. Yang follows soon after.

**Emerald Forest Relic Temple**

A feeling of ominousness fills the air, causing the two girls to shiver unconsciously. The total silence didn't help either. With one hand on the hilt of _Gambol Shroud_, Blake slowly approaches the structure, with what she now sees as pedestals, placed in a semicircle facing them. Leaning forward on her foot, Blake steps forward silently, before it is all ruined by Yang loudly yawning and stomping into the center of the structure.

Stopping, Blake pinches the bridge of her nose again before opting to walk normally. Choosing at a whim, Blake steps forward towards one pedestal.

"Chess pieces? Are these the relics?" Blake mutters, just loud enough for Yang to hear.

"Seems like it." Yang replies. It seems as though others have already been here, as some of the relics are missing from their respective pedestals. Yang picks up a knight piece.

"There's thirty-two pedestals here... But we had sixty-four students at the cliff. Is it one relic for every two people?" Blake places her chin between her thumb and forefinger.

Yang shrugs nonchalantly. "Probably. I'm not gonna think to much about it." Making her way towards a relic, she picks one up, examining it closely.

"How about a pony? Pretty cute, don't you think?" Yang shakes a gold knight piece at Blake, grinning as she does so.

Blake rolls her eyes again, beginning to get a little tired from the repetitive motion. "Sure."

Opening a flap in her jacket, Yang drops in the relic.

Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from the forest behind the girls. Yang and Blake ready their weapons in response.

"What was that?" Yang asks Blake.

"We've got company. It's either students or Grimm." Blake squints a bit, as a tree falls from behind the treeline.

"Hey, wait, is that..." Yang begins, before gasping. "It's Ruby... and the princess!" Yang raises her hands and jumps in the air, cupping her mouth to direct her voice towards her sister. "HEY, RUBY!"

"YANG, IS THAT YOU!?" Ruby answers in equal force, causing Weiss to cover her ears.

"YEAH! WE FOUND THE RELICS! WHAT HAPPENED!? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING!?"

"UH, YEAH... ABOUT THAT...!"

The Deathstalker that had been chasing Ruby and Weiss makes its appearance known, quite explosively if I might add. The entire treeline explodes into wooden fragments as the scorpion utterly demolishes the scenery to try to get to the girls. Ruby and Weiss both let out short screams and Ruby begins running faster.

Yang's arms slowly fall down to her sides, her mouth agape.

"...Holy moly, guacamole."

Suddenly, another tree falls, and an Ursa appears from out of nowhere. Blake grips her hilt, while Yang begins raising her hands up in a defensive stance. However, this was all in vain, as pink explosions blow the Ursa to pieces, sizzling piles of Grimm falling to the floor. A boisterous girl jumps atop the decomposing corpse, while a boy with a pink streak in his hair jumps down from a tree, landing quite gracefully.

The girl has shirt orange hair and blueish eyes, wearing a white sleeveless top with a heart cut out of the center. This is covered by a black collared vest, which is protected by light armor, beginning at the shoulder and ending at her waist. She wears a bright frilly pink skirt, ending in the middle of her thighs. She also wears pink fingerless gloves and white undergloves that reach to her biceps.

The boy has long black hair tied into a ponytail, with the aforementioned pink streak. He has pink eyes as well, matching the strand of hair. The boy is also dressed much more moderately compared to the girl's loud colors. He wears a dark green tailcoat, with black and gold trimmings that form a pattern. He also wears fairly uninteresting white pants.

"Nora... please don't ever do that again." The boy tells the girl, a little out of breath.

The aforementioned Nora sticks out her tongue playfully before examining the Ursa's cracked mask. "No promises, Ren!"

The boy, now formally known as Ren, follows after Nora, whom had begun skipping towards Yang and Blake, intent on taking a relic for her and Ren. He starts jogging after her, a hand up in a effort to stop her from running off. Picking one out at random, Nora grabs a rook piece, her face lighting up as she did so. She breaks out into song and dance.

"I'm queen of the castle~, I'm queen of the castle~"

This utterly embarrasses Ren, who covers his face with a hand, a small blush blooming on his cheeks. "Nora..." He protests weakly.

Nora stops singing, smiling at Ren and giggling in a teasing manner. She pockets the chess piece and turns to Yang and Blake, a gigantic smile splitting her face in half.

"...Hi...?" Yang waves nervously.

"Hello~! It's nice to meet you! My name's Nora! Nora Valkyrie! And this here is Lie Ren!" Nora pulls Ren into view, who waves awkwardly at Blake and Yang, whom reciprocate the gesture.

Nora leans forward, pretending to whisper. "But you can just call him Ren. That's what he prefers anyway."

"Uh... that's cool... I'm Yang Xiao Long." Yang flashes a toothy grin, placing a hand on her waist and resting her weight on one foot. "And this here is Blake." Yang points at her. "Blake Bella... Bella... Uhhh, what was it again?"

"Belladonna." Blake finishes for Yang, frowning a bit. Yang just grins before scratching her cheek.

Yang is about to open her mouth again, but another loud screech interrupts her, causing everyone in the vicinity to wince, Blake suffering the most. A loud thud shakes the ground, and a high pitched scream slowly grows louder in volume. A large shadow engulfs the party, who slowly stare upwards, shock apparent in their eyes.

Ruby and Weiss flail their arms as they begin falling, having been taken surprise by the Deathstalker, which flung them into the air.

Ruby yells out in vain.

"HEADS UUUUUP!"

—o—

**11:51**

Trudging through the slogs that is the Emerald Forest really does take a toll on you. It's like a maze, and our only saving solace is our Scroll. It's pretty nerve-wracking walking through the forest, and it's honestly making me paranoid. I jump at any little sound and stepping on twigs have Pyrrha and I draw our weapons. The encounter with the Beowolves really have us on edge.

Following the compass on my Scroll religiously, I stretch before yawning, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"Lucky. No more Grimm, and we should be at the temple by now."

_At least... I hope so._

Pyrrha peers into the distance, and a small smile crops up. "We're here, Noctis."

I breathe a large sigh of relief. "Good grief, I thought we would be going around in circles. This forest is seriously unforgiving."

Looking ahead, the trees seem to thin out, and the dark shadows made by the leaves grow lighter and lighter as the two of us move closer. Jogging up ahead, to Pyrrha's objection, I stand next to the final tree before the clearing starts. With a grin, I squint upwards, noting the sun's position in the sky. It's currently at its peak, now. Which means its around noon, so we've probably spent a little under three hours in this Initiation.

Examining my body, my face is smeared with dirt, which I failed to clean beforehand, after the fight with the Alpha Beowolf. I had given up due to me making it worse, somehow. My undershirt is crusty with dried sweat, and I try to air it out some more. My hair is wild, and trying to push it back down results in it quickly popping up in a permanent cowlick. I glance at Pyrrha, who's positively glowing. Her makeup's fine, and her hair is as pristine as it was before Initiation. I feel inadequate just looking at her.

Running a hand through my hair, I look back at the clearing just in time to see Ruby and Weiss flying through the air, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Pyrrha and I blink at the spectacle. She looks at me with a worried glance. "Should we help them?"

Thinking for a moment, I just click my tongue and wave off her question. "Nah, they're probably going to be fine."

A high pitched wailing causes my eyes to widen. A Deathstalker Grimm jumps into view, rumbling the floor and causing our teeth to chatter.

"On second thought, yeah, I think we should help them."

A large gust of wind passes by us and almost knocks us off our feet. I shield my eyes and grunt slightly before the wind dies down.

"By the gods... a Nevermore!" Pyrrha points skyward, her voice wavering a bit.

Looking up, the giant bird Grimm screeches as it flaps its wings, sailing towards the temple. It then begins to circle it, as if unsure what to do.

I scrunch up my face and lean back with a groan, pinching my nose. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Wordlessly, I look at Pyrrha before running, and slowly accelerate myself to a sprint, closing the distance between me and the objective. Scanning the distance, I spot a distinguishable large head of blonde hair, Yang, some orange hair, Nora, I think, and white hair, which is Weiss. Shaking my head, I decide not to announce my presence, and just slow my pace down, my arms stiffly at my sides. I try to control my breathing.

Hiding behind a pillar, I peek out, my dark... everything concealing me effectively.

Yang has Ruby in a bridal carry, and she tilts Ruby forward, dropping her onto her feet. Blake had the unfortunate positioning of being right under Weiss, and under social obligation, catches her as well. Blake immediately lets go of Weiss, roughly pushing her onto her feet. Weiss glares at Blake, who returns it in full force. Instead of escalating, Weiss opts to walk away, dusting off her dress- I mean combat skirt.

Pyrrha sneaks up behind me, my breath catching in my throat.

"What are you doing?" She whispers, her green eyes boring into the back of my head.

"...I really don't know." I truthfully respond. Standing to my full height, I pocket my hands before walking into view of the six man party huddling together in the temple.

"Yo." I lazily wave a hand, greeting the five girls and one boy.

Everyone responds with varying levels of enthusiasms, and Yang guffaws loudly.

"Great! Now that we're all here, we can die together!"

The Nevermore and Deathstalker all sound out their respective screeches, as if to make a point.

Pyrrha walks up to me, catching my attention with a pat on the shoulder. "I got us the relic."

Opening her hands, Pyrrha gestures for me to take it. I open my hand for her to drop it on. When she does so, the weight of it catches me off guard, and I almost fall down.

_Is this thing made of solid gold or something?_

Examining it closer, I note that it's a gold colored rook piece. Tossing it in the air a couple times, I spin it around with my thumb and forefinger before handing it back to Pyrrha. She unbuttons a pocket on her waistband, and drops the relic inside for safekeeping. I take a sharp breath when I realize that I don't even remember who took which relic in canon.

"So what do we do now?" Yang interrupts my thinking.

"We go back to the cliff." Weiss answers her question, stepping into the center. "We've reached our objective, and we've completed it."

"But what about the Grimm?" Ruby asks, a golden knight piece in her hand. She slips it into a pocket.

Weiss scoffs. "What about them? We just need to finish the Initiation. I'd rather like to avoid unnecessary combat."

Ruby puffs up her cheeks and points at Weiss. "We're training to be hunters. It's gonna be our job to kill Grimm."

"We won't be able to _do _our job if we die here, and I don't believe any of us are strong enough to take out these particular ones." Weiss counters, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. She looks around at everyone to see if anyone will object.

Ruby frowns, jutting out her lower lip. "I think you're just afraid."

Weiss flinches at Ruby's comment, but does not say anything. With a final glare, Ruby transforms _Crescent Rose _into its fully expanded form before sprinting head first towards the Deathstalker, planning to meet it at the center of the clearing. She amplifies her speed with her Semblance.

Yang yells out in a panic, almost tripping over herself as she runs after her sister. "NO, RUBY! STOP!"

Everyone looks at each other, nobody knowing what to do. I run the the front of the group, stopping just ahead of Blake, surveying the situation.

Ruby lets out a cry before cycling a round into her scythe's chamber. Pulling the trigger, she fires the gun behind her twice, the recoil causing her to fly forward at an amazing speed. Racking the bolt, Ruby swings _Crescent Rose_ a full 360 degrees, slamming the tip of the blade against the Deathstalker's boney exterior. Her eyes widen in shock as her scythe just bounces off, chipping off a few chunks, but ultimately leaving a superficial wound.

Aggravated, the Deathstalker roars, distorting the air, and winds up an attack with its pincers. Quickly, Ruby fires another round, flying backwards away from the threat, only barely missing the swipe of the Grimm's pincers. It clips her cape, tearing a patch out of it. Ruby clenches her teeth, cycling another round and firing again, creating some distance between the Deathstalker and herself.

With a small flip, Ruby lands on her feet, and she pierces the ground with _Crescent Rose._ Chambering rounds quickly, Ruby fires off the rest of her magazine, compensating the recoil with the blade stuck in the dirt. However, none of this has an effect on the Deathstalker, only serving to irritate it. Ruby's jaw hits the floor, and begins to reluctantly run away, collapsing her weapon and clipping it to the small of her back.

Yang, who was still running to Ruby, almost catches up to her sister. Without warning, the Nevermore circling above spreads its wings and slaps them together, sending a few dozen razor sharp feathers flying towards the two girls.

I watch this clenching and unclenching my fists. My breathing quickens and I hesitate in running off after them. I run my hand through my hair and grip tightly in indecision.

_What do I do? What the hell do I do!?_

"Dammit all!" I yell out in frustration, starting to sprint towards Yang and Ruby.

The feathers stab into the ground, reaching closer and closer towards Ruby, who looks back in time to see it coming. Dodging a few of the feathers, she tires quickly. The fatigue from using her Semblance in quick succession so many times in a single day forces her to the ground.

I grit my teeth and increase my pace to its maximum.

_Damn... it! I'm still too far away! Gotta go... faster!_

One feather in particular gleams menacingly, flying towards Ruby, who trips onto the floor in a panic. I scream out through my teeth, summoning my sword in my hand.

With a loud yell, I throw my sword towards the feather, waiting a bit for it fly closer. Focusing on the tingling point in my hand, I warp to my sword, the stinging pain worse than before. Flipping in the air, I slash down with the blade, slicing the feather clean in two. The feather splits apart, stabbing into the left and right of Ruby, just missing her. Angling my feet towards the ground, a dull pain rockets up my legs, and I fall into a roll, landing right next to Ruby.

I reach my hand out to pick her up.

"AGHHH!"

The stinging pain transitions into the worst pain I've ever had. It suddenly racks my entire body, the worst of it in my head. Clutching my head, I scream out in agony, falling to my knees. Closing my eyes, flashes of light dot my vision, and I scream again, not caring that my throat is going hoarse. The ringing is getting worse. In fact, I think it's all I can hear. Tunnel vision sets in, and I grit my teeth so hard I think I'll break them. Tears flow from my eyes, and my screams grow quieter as I begin to whimper. My memory becomes fuzzy.

A figure blocks the sun in my eyes, and looks down at me worriedly. Voices are muffled, and my vision is dark.

_Blake..._

I see her mouth moving, but I can't hear what she's trying to say. She looks up, pointing at something or someone, before grabbing my arm, taking me up in a fireman carry. The pressure on my back disappears.

My movements are stunted as well, and any limbs I try to move do so slowly.

_My eyes... I can't... keep them... open..._

I slip into unconsciousness.

—o—

**? ? ?**

**?:?  
**

**? ? ?**

My eyes open suddenly, my vision still impaired. Sitting up, I realize I'm in a room, my eyes refocusing. A sharp pain comes as fast as it disappears, and I wince a bit before rubbing my temples.

Waiting a bit for my memories to resurface, I rub my eyes, stars filling my vision, before slowly opening them again. A warm light shines through a window, and I shield it with the back of my hand. I examine my surroundings.

_This... this is my room..._

Spending a few seconds processing this thought, I sigh dejectedly, my bangs falling over my eyes.

_I guess... I guess that really was a dream, huh?_

I sit still for minutes, contemplating the events I just went through, no matter how real they seemed. Angrily throwing off the covers, I rise out of the bed, looking at the time on the clock sitting on the bedside drawer. It's the weekend, so I must've slept in.

I look over my room again, a small smile forming as I begin to contemplate my routine. My hands itch as I think of the games I still need to finish.

Tasting the inside of my mouth, the morning breath fills me with disgust, and I move to open the door to my room, heading to the bathroom. The light is off, so I spend a few moments feeling around the room like a headless chicken before my hand feels a light switch. Flipping it, I see myself in the mirror and-

"What the fuck!?"

I slam against the wall of the bathroom, knocking down a few things from the shelf above me. My heart's blood pressure jumps dramatically, the pumping of blood causing a bit of lightheadedness. I stagger on my feet a bit. My breathing quickens to accommodate, my chest rising and falling.

Staring into the mirror, the face of 'Noctis' stares back. The only thing out of place is that I'm in my pajamas. My jaw trembles a bit, and I peel myself away from the wall behind me, moving closer to the mirror, almost afraid that something might happen. I slowly bring my hands up to my face, flinching a bit when I touch my skin. Nothing happens, and I continue examining myself in the mirror, playing with my hair and forming random expressions.

_I'm going crazy. I'm going crazy, that's the only explanation._

In denial, I open the bathroom door to leave, not bothering to brush my teeth. My eyes widen and I begin grinding my teeth to dust.

The corridor leading to my room has disappeared, and the walls to my left and right are slowly disintegrating, panels of drywall slowly falling away and vanishing into a point. My vision is filled with pure black, the surroundings mirroring the location I was in when I died back on Earth.

"Why does this keep happening to me...?" I whisper to myself, slowly backing away from the corridor, expecting to bump into the bathroom door. Turning around, the bathroom isn't even there anymore, the pitch black darkness replacing it immediately. Spinning in place, the illusion falls apart, and I am left in the same predicament as before. Alone in an empty space. Damn.

"Hello there."

A voice eerily similar to mine echoes in my vicinity, the sound reverberating equally, meaning I can't tell where it came from.

A dull thud of boots approaches from behind, and I turn around, ready to either fight or run. I swallow a glob of saliva in anticipation, and I begin backing away.

A body steps forward into my vision, somehow illuminated. An audible gasp escapes from my throat.

"There's... there's no way...!" I shake my head unconsciously.

The person standing in front of me... is a perfect doppelganger of me. His hair, his face, the huntsman clothes, all the same. The only thing that is different is his... silver... eyes.

He smirks, slipping his hands into his pockets. "On the contrary." His voice sends shivers down my spine. When his mouth opens, all I can hear is myself, and... it just feels so wrong.

"What... How... Who the fuck are you!?" I shift my feet backward, my breathing becoming audible.

He clicks his tongue and shakes his head, as if he's disappointed in a child. "Now, now, there's no need for such foul language... dear Leon." He smirks.

My heart stops beating for a full second, and my eyes widen, my pupils shrinking.

"How the- How the hell do you know that name!?" I growl at him, almost about to attack him, my fists shaking.

He shakes his head again, that damned smirk still on his face. A hollow laugh escapes his lips, and his shoulders shake as it bubbles out of him.

"Oh... you poor, poor, fool."

"You really don't understand?" He looks at me incredulously. He clicks his tongue again, placing his hand on his chest. "I... am you." He then points at me, baring his teeth. "And you... are me."

A metaphorical glass window shatters. My eyes widen, and I take a step backwards, my knees shaking. "No... that's impossible...! I'm just supposed to be a reincarnation!"

"And _how_ did you think you would reincarnate?" He sharply raises his voice, silencing me.

"Instead of being reborn from the beginning of your life... your soul was placed into someone already on Remnant. And that someone... was me." A flash of anger crosses his face, marring his relaxed expression.

"I was to be a huntsman that day..." He raises his hand up, before clenching it suddenly. "But it was all taken away from me, when _she_ put you in my body, and forced me into the recesses of your psyche."

"It changed me... forced my Aura dormant, and my Semblance..." He trails off with a deep breath, anger still visible in his eyes, content with leaving me with half-baked ideas to work with.

I throw my hands backwards, frustrated. "But how...!? How do you know all this!?"

He laughs. "Did you forget, you idiot? We are the same person. I have your memories. Right here." He taps his temple in emphasis, smirking again. I form a fist with my hands at his arrogance.

_Wait..._

A genuine question pops up in my head. "Why doesn't it go both ways? Why don't I have any of _your_ memories?"

His face twists to one of sorrow, his haughty tone fading somewhat. "My memories are useless to you. There's no point in you knowing my past."

"Ah, but you are wondering what my name is?" He smirks once more, bowing pompously. "You may call me Somnus Argentum."

A brief silence falls over us as I think about what to say.

"Alright, then... Somnus. So why am I here?"

He stares at me for a brief second, before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. He smirks again, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I just wanted to talk, that's all."

"Then why didn't you speak to me before I fell unconscious?" My eyes narrow slightly.

"Your mental capacity is astounding."

I am caught off guard by his statement. I'm not sure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. "Uh... thank you...?"

"I can't speak to you when you're awake." He elaborates. "And even when your sleeping, your brain still prevents me from doing much. So this is all I can do, unless you can find a way to get to me, in your subconscious." He hints.

The scenery suddenly shifts from black to white, causing me to wince. The void slowly expands, and Somnus begins shrinking, as the distance between us starts to grow. He looks up, a tiny smile spreading across his face.

"Ah... looks like you're waking up now." He nods to me, his arrogant tone disappearing entirely, surprising me somewhat. "Farewell, Leon. I'll be waiting."

Somnus suddenly begins fading away, his body becoming transparent.

"Wait, no! I still have questions!" I start running towards him, who bows at me. The more I run, the further away he seems to get. The blinding white light forces me to shield my eyes.

"Dammit! Somnus! ANSWER ME!" I yell out, the echo bouncing back into my ears.

His figure explodes into tiny crystals, and even they fade away into nothingness. At this, my eyelids become heavy, and I trip over myself. Falling down onto the white plane, I roll to a stop, my back to the floor. My breathing and heartbeat start to slow and my eyelids begin to close. Nothing I do is able to stop it.

_Damn... it..._

I wake up.

—o—

**A/N: NOOOOO IT HAPPENED AGAIN! I seriously cannot stop writing, so now the Initiation is going to be split up into 4 chapters. Sorry about that!**

**So yeah, some exposition! My SI has a voice in his head now! Hooray!**

**Oh, Somnus is supposed to know my real name, but Leon isn't my actual name. It's close to it though!**

**Please review, I'd like to see what you think! See you in the next chapter!**


	6. Napier Green

Chapter 6: Napier Green

—o—

**April 2**

**12:11**

**Emerald Forest Cave**

"...Noc..." A warbled voice echoes, the ringing in my ears causing it to sound like its underwater.

"...wa... ke... up..."

"...Noc... tis..." My eyelids begin straining themselves open. The voice starts becoming clearer.

"Noctis!"

"Ngh...!" My face twists into a horrible expression as I wince at the loudness. A whistle ramps up in volume before suddenly cutting off. Slowly reaching a hand up to my head, I reflexively try to sit up. A hand immediately places itself on my chest, forcing me back down.

My eyes refocusing, the face in my vision finally registers itself as Blake. She takes a look at me, her amber eyes darting left and right, before sighing.

"You're awake... thank goodness."

"How... how long was I out?" I force out, my voice hoarse. I clear my throat, only making the burning sensation worse.

"Not very long. Only a few minutes, I believe." Blake glances at her Scroll, the light illuminating her face somewhat.

I wince as a mild ache rushes through my brain before dissipating. "Where... are we?"

"Away from the fighting."

Tilting my head up, it's dark as hell. My pupils take an excruciating amount of time to dilate, so I still can't tell where we are. Probably a cave of some sorts, due to the hardness of the ground I'm sitting on. It feels smooth and cold to the touch.

Blake reaches a hand for my face, and pinches open one of my eyelids, forcing an eye open.

"What the- what are you-"

Blake brings up her Scroll with another hand and turns on the flashlight, momentarily blinding me.

"OW! What the heck, Blake!?" My voice cracks.

"Sorry." She says without really meaning it. She turns off the light and lowers her Scroll. "I was checking for a concussion."

"...And do I have one?" I grumble, a bit annoyed. I cover the eye Blake pointed her Scroll's light at, and rub vigorously, trying to drown out the black spots in my vision.

"...No."

I frown at her before I notice a soft smile on her lips. She laughs quietly to herself, her shoulders shaking a bit. It seems she was just trying to get a rise out of me.

I take a deep breath and palm my face. "Goddammit, Blake."

Her giggling dies down quickly. After a brief pause, she asks me a question. "...So what happened?"

My expression falls, my eyes fading somewhat. I turn away from the girl, trying to collect my thoughts. A phantom pain throbs in my skull, and I bring my hand up to my head again.

"You collapsed, and started screaming." She reminds me.

"Yeah... I'm not even sure why it happened, anyway..." I try to sit up again, and Blake doesn't stop me this time. I place a hand flat on the ground behind me to carry some of my weight.

"It may have been Aura exhaustion." Blake theorizes.

"Does Aura exhaustion cause you to suffer the worst pain imaginable?" I fire back, a little harsher than I mean to.

Blake slowly shakes her head.

"...I thought not." I sigh, lowering my voice. "But, unless it happens again... I'm not gonna worry too much about it."

Blake decides to change the subject, but then bristles a bit when she looks at my arm.

"You're hurt."

Following her line of sight, I lift up my forearm to examine it. A large red line crosses diagonally from the bottom of my wrist to the middle of my forearm. As I examine it, blood begins leaking out, and I flash my teeth in a bit of pain. It's not too terrible; I've been wounded before in my... past life.

"What...?" I mutter to myself, fishing out my Scroll from my pocket. Turning it on, I unlock it and navigate to the Aura monitor, and I take a breath through my teeth.

"Your Aura..." Blake scoots next to me, side by side, and leans into my Scroll, narrowing her eye. I blush a bit at this closeness, but I try my best to ignore it.

Moving on, my Aura is sitting at 5 percent, blinking red. A large [WARNING] sign flashes above the bar, lighting up the cave red with every pulse. The Aura bar jumps from 5 to 6 percent after a few seconds, the audio cue echoing into the deeper parts of the cave.

"How is it this low? You weren't hit by anything." Blake asks.

"Well, my Semblance uses Aura... which I just found it out today, after getting my Aura activated." I decide to tell her the truth about my situation.

Blake shifts her weight a bit. "Activated...? You mean you didn't have an Aura up until today?"

I think back to Somnus's words. _Forced my Aura dormant,_ he said. "Yeah." I give a white lie to Blake, lowering my eyes. I put my Scroll back into my pocket, putting the two of us back in darkness. Blake's eyes start glowing.

"I know-" Blake cuts off abruptly, breathing in sharply before closing her eyes and rethinking her statement. "I _knew_... people who have Aura-based Semblances."

I stay silent, waiting for her to go on.

"When they first discovered their Semblances, they poured in massive amounts of Aura in order to even use them for the first time. And especially in times of stress, they unintentionally dump all of their Aura in a panic. I guess that's what happened to you."

I nod slowly, filing away this information in my brain.

"That still doesn't explain why it hurt so goddamn much..." I twist my arms in an effort to relieve some tension.

"I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you. In my case, using my Semblance too often or draining my Aura only leads to fatigue, not pain." Blake tries to console me... in her own way.

A large screech shakes the cave we're in, and a large shadow blocks the entrance for a split second.

"Is that who I think it is?" I lean forward, satisfied that nothing seems to be hurting.

"Yes... That's Yang." Blake confirms, running a hand across her face.

"I! HOPE! YOU'RE! HUN! GRY!" Yang's loud yells are punctuated by a loud bang of her gauntlets. The Nevermore she's riding screeches in pain.

"Can you walk?" Blake leans in closer, arms outstretched if I need help getting up off my feet. I wave her off.

"Yeah, I think so." Planting my feet flat on the cave floor, I rock my weight forward by pushing off with my hands behind me. My knees crack and pop as I slowly rise to my full height. Blake does the same, standing up beside me.

Walking to the entrance, I poke my head out, shielding my eyes as I wait for my vision to adjust to the sun's brightness. The view in front of me is chaotic.

Weiss, Nora, and Pyrrha are busy fighting off the Deathstalker, though their teamwork leaves much to be desired. Weiss's elegance clashes harshly against Nora's AOE attacks, and spends most of her time dodging Nora rather than the Grimm they're fighting. Pyrrha is doing most of the work, redirecting pincers and blocking stinger strikes whenever possible.

Yang and Ren are occupied with the Nevermore, mostly just doing their own thing, careful to avoid each other's attacks. Ren acts as more of a nuisance than an actual threat, firing off his dual pistols and stabbing into the Nevermore's hide. Yang pries open the beak of the Grimm, dumping Fire Dust rounds into the orifice.

Ruby is alone in the temple of relics, trying to rally everyone together, failing miserably. A dejected expression is apparent on her face, and she frowns when nobody listens to her.

"This is not working." I comment. Scanning the situation, I jump as Yang crashes down onto the ground next to me, apparently being knocked off of the Nevermore.

"Ohhh... damn, that really hurt..." Yang sits up slowly, her head spinning dizzily. She blinks multiple times before looking up.

"Oh hey, Noct! Looks like you're finally up!" Yang tries to smile, but the gesture just falls flat.

I hold a hand out for Yang to grasp onto, which she graciously accepts, jumping up onto her feet.

"Alright, what the heck is goin' on here?" I ask.

Yang sighs, placing her hands behind her neck to air out her hair, kicking up a small dust cloud around her head.

"It's... not very good. After you collapsed, everything went south. Nobody knew what to do, so we did what we know best." Yang lifts her cocked gauntlets for effect. "We're not doing so hot... as you can see. Ruby's trying her best, but with her being so tired..."

I thumb my chin in thought. "Okay... I'll think of something."

"Well, come up with something fast, cause I dunno how long the rest of us can hold out." Yang pressures.

Glancing at each party member, they're tired in some form or another. Most notably, Pyrrha is actually beginning to look worn out; her hair is sticking to her face, and her mouth is open, her breathing harder than usual. Weiss looks like she's about to fall asleep at any moment. Nora is sweating bullets, struggling to keep up her happy expression. Ren almost loses his dual submachine guns, _Stormflower,_ in a bout of confusion.

It seems Blake, Ruby, and I are the only ones not directly affected by the battle.

"Fall back to the cliff." I bark out.

"What...? Are you sure?" Yang looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

I nod once. "Yeah, right now, everyone's fighting their own battles. No teamwork is being used, and that's affecting our bottom line. Retreating is our best option. Reform and regroup."

"Hm. I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover." Yang remarks, hitting me in the chest before smirking.

_...What's that supposed to mean, Yang?_

"We'll relay that order." Blake promises me, stepping in before I could react to Yang's... "compliment". She grips my shoulder for a second before letting go. Nodding to Yang, Blake performs her signature ninja vanish, blurring away into the treetops. Yang gives me a two-finger salute and starts running, trying to catch the Nevermore's attention again, and by extent, Ren's as well.

Checking my Scroll again, I breathe out of my nose as I frown at the rate of Aura regeneration. My Aura's now sitting at around 10 percent. Still too slow.

_You have a lot of it._ Pyrrha's voice echoes in my head. I frown. _It takes forever to recharge, though._

I begin making my way towards the temple, where Ruby is sitting alone. She covers her face with her hands, shrinking into herself.

"This is all my fault..." She mutters. Ruby begins to quietly sob, unaware of my presence. I feel terrible, and I step forward hesitantly.

"Ruby." I call aloud, not sure what to do or say. Ruby squeaks like a mouse before rubbing her eyes with her forearm. She forces a smile and looks up at me.

"Hey... Oh, Noct!" Her fake smile transitions to a genuine one for a split second. Looking into her eyes, it's pretty telling what emotion she's feeling right now. There's this saying: 'When you look into someone's eyes, you can see their soul.' I'm not that proficient at interpreting body language, but I can tell that Ruby's not happy right now.

"Are you alright? When you collapsed I..." Ruby trails off, huddling her legs together and placing her hands on her lap.

"I'm fine. Blake took care of me." I tell her. Shaking my head, I do away with the small talk.

"Enough about that, I just want to tell you that we're retreating to the Beacon cliff head."

Ruby nods her head solemnly. "I... I understand." She stands up, sighing heavily.

"I'm so useless..." Ruby almost begins crying again, sniffling and rubbing her nose.

"Ruby." I interject, my voice a little more forceful. "You're not useless."

"But I-"

"But nothing." I lower my head, running my hand through my hair. "Yang told me about your rallying, I think you'd make a great leader."

Ruby stays silent.

My lips curl upward. "Just call it a hunch." I pat Ruby's shoulder, and start overlooking the battlefield.

To my surprise, Yang finishes her job first. She pelts the Nevermore with Dust rounds, signaling for Ren to jump. Jumping forward, Ren bombards the Nevermore's face with ammunition, blinding it in one eye. The Grimm, surprised, lowers in altitude, allowing for Ren to jump off and hit the floor, his Aura taking the brunt of the trauma.

Blake takes an opportunity to pull Weiss away from the fighting and out of the range of one of Nora's attacks. I can see them talking, and Weiss nods reluctantly after a brief staring match. Weiss rushes back into the fray, catching the attention of Nora and Pyrrha. Nora salutes, flashing an over the top grin. Pyrrha smiles uncertainly, and the three girls, plus Blake, start running, making good on my order.

"Okay." I look over to Ruby, who has a confident expression on her face. "This is the part where we run."

I run. Looking back, Ruby sprints after me, a bit of her Semblance leaking out. Ruby easily catches up to me, running up ahead of me. She turns back to look at me, and cheekily sticks out her tongue. I smile, shaking my head, not bothering to play her game. I stick to my pace, occupied, as I have to look around to see everyone's positioning.

Everyone else is ahead, drawing the attention of the two Grimm, leaving Ruby and I in relative peace. The trees suddenly thin out, and we reach a clearing, finally in view of the cliff head. Two tiny figures are visible in the distance. They must be Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch.

Ruby stretches her hand out, intent on having me take it.

"What are you going to do?" I yell out, the wind howling in my ears.

"If I use my Semblance, we can get to the others faster!"

I ponder for a moment. "Alright. I won't stop you." Grasping her hand, I gasp as Ruby activates her Semblance, the extreme speed causing my vision to zoom out. She suddenly stops, causing my vision to shrink and triggering a bout of nausea as I trip over my own feet.

Pyrrha is the one closest to me, and notices my presence. "Noctis!? And Ruby?"

_She knows Ruby's name?_ I wonder. An epiphany comes to mind. _It seems they've introduced themselves after I blacked out..._

I throw my hand back, and bring my legs back up to speed. "Keep going! Get to the tower!"

"And split up! Divide and conquer! Ruby, form up with Blake, Weiss, and Yang! Take on the Nevermore! Pyrrha, call over Nora and Ren! We'll handle the Deathstalker!"

Pyrrha and Ruby nod in unison after a brief moment of hesitation. "Right!" They both call out. Pyrrha yells out to the others, relaying my message. Shouts of confirmation answer her.

**Deja Vu - Dave Rodgers**

"Okay..." I follow after Pyrrha, who does as I asked, calling Ren and Nora over to us. RWBY splits off from the group, heading towards the tower. The Nevermore flies ahead of us, blocking the sun before perching itself atop the tower. It shrieks in pain and anger, distorting the air around its beak. RWBY crosses the bridge leading to the tower, and engages the Nevermore.

**12:20**

**Emerald Forest Bridge**

I stop at the edge of the bridge, turning back around to face the Deathstalker racing towards us. Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren all take out their weapons and ready them. I am ready to summon my sword, but hesitate at the last moment. Taking out my Scroll, my Aura is at 18 percent.

"Fuck..." I curse quietly to myself. Making up my mind, I grab at the air, my sword predictably materializing into my grip. I don't feel any less tired. Another quick glance at my Scroll has me grinning.

_Still at 18 percent... So summoning my sword doesn't use up Aura. Nice._

"Okay, everyone! Teamwork is key! We'll need to work together to take this Grimm down!" I yell out, the sounds of battle raging behind us. Looks like RWBY is doing good on their end.

"Pyrrha and I will distract it!" I continue. She readies her shield.

"Ren! See if you can't cut off the stinger!" He nods to me, moving into his stance, ready to break out into movement.

"Nora! Hit it fast, and hit it hard! We'll leave openings for you!" I nod at Pyrrha.

Nora salutes and transforms her hammer, _Magnhild_, into a grenade launcher. "You got it, boss!"

The Deathstalker rapidly approaches, clicking its pincers in a taunt.

"Wait for my signal..." I raise a fist up. The Deathstalker gets ever so closer.

My eyes widen and I throw my hand down in a chopping motion. "Now!"

Everyone springs into action. Pyrrha and I are up first, and we begin charging the Grimm. Pyrrha sprints ahead of me, blocking a pincer strike aimed towards me. Capitalizing on this, I shoot past Pyrrha and slash at the joint connecting the pincer to the arm. The Deathstalker cries out in pain, stumbling a bit. This allows for Nora to throw some ordnance at it.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Ren mounts the Deathstalker from behind, grabbing onto the tail and climbing aboard. Stabbing into the meaty part of it, Ren stabilizes himself before pumping rounds into the joint holding the stinger.

We get a nice rhythm going, Pyrrha defending, and me putting in some damage. Some of the strikes almost hit me, but Pyrrha is there to deflect them. It's slow, but we're managing to wear out the Deathstalker.

_Alright. As long as we keep this up we-_

The Deathstalker screeches, forcing Pyrrha and I back for a moment. I shield my face with my hands while Pyrrha does so with _Akoúo_. The Grimm shakes its tail, throwing Ren off balance. He struggles to hold on, but inevitably fails, getting flung away and hitting a stone pillar in the distance.

"REN!" Nora screams out his name, panic evident in her voice.

"Damn!" I curse and call out to Pyrrha, before running to the Deathstalker in a second wind. Spinning out of the way of a pincer, I block the second pincer with the flat of my blade. The immense strength immediately forces me onto a knee, and I begin sweating heavily. Pyrrha is almost by my side to pick up where I leave off, but the Deathstalker is one step ahead.

Lifting up its pincer, the Grimm breaks off from the deadlock, knocking my sword out of my hands. I look as it falls off into the depths below and blows up into crystals. I look back just in time to hear Pyrrha screaming my name and feel a sharp pain in my stomach. Lifted off of my feet, I fly backwards, skipping down onto the bridge like a stone on water. My Aura shield shimmers before shattering into pieces.

I gasp in pain, turning over off of my back and looking up.

_You've... got to be... kidding me...!_

The Nevermore that RWBY is fighting spins in a screw attack, intent on destroying the bridge that I am on. Stumbling onto my feet, I try to run back towards Pyrrha and the others.

Too late. The Nevermore collides with the bridge, utterly demolishing it into tiny pieces and sending me flying... again.

_No... I don't want to die again!_

But I couldn't do anything. Nothing to grab onto, no Aura to use my Semblance. I'm completely and utterly _fucked_.

A hand grasps my open hand, jerking me forward with momentum.

"I've got you!" A familiar voice reaches my eyes. Looking up, it's Blake. She saved me.

"Hold on!" She warns, before pulling onto the ribbon of her weapon. Dislodging it, she directs her sword higher up the rock wall, swinging upwards and above ground level. Looking down, I angle my feet and let go of Blake's hand before dropping into a clumsy roll, falling flat onto my face. I wince in pain, rubbing my legs to alleviate some of the soreness. I stand up with some effort.

"Noctis...!" Blake gets closer to me, a bit of worry in her voice.

"So... how's... it... going...?" I take deep breaths after each word.

Blake understands the meaning of my question. "It's going well. Yang's doing most of the heavy hitting."

I look towards the chaos that is RWBY. Yang's hair glows bright yellow, and she punches the Nevermore straight in the jaw. A sickening crack is heard; I think she broke it. Black viscera pours out of the open wound, a disgusting black mist forcing Yang to jump off.

"Eugh..." I involuntarily voice my revulsion.

"Okay, go do your thing, Blake." I tell her, adamant in my good health. She looks at me hesitantly before jumping off, regrouping with the rest of her future team.

Shaking my head, I run back to the others. They seem to have done fine without me. Though they haven't even noticed the glaring weak spot of the Deathstalker. Running up behind them, I call out to Pyrrha.

"Noctis!" Pyrrha looks at me with shock.

"Pyrrha, hit that joint with your shield!" I point to the joint connecting the stinger to the tail. Pyrrha acknowledge it immediately, throwing her shield, cutting the stinger off. It falls into the Deathstalker, penetrating its boney armor and impaling itself stuck.

I grin, but I collapse onto a knee with fatigue.

I take a note of the battlefield, trying to think of something to use to my advantage. "Nora, gain some altitude, the bridge is about to give way, and with one more blow, we can kill the Deathstalker without having to kill it directly."

I stumble onto my feet. "Pyrrha, shield." I say quickly, and she understands immediately.

Raising up _Akoúo_, Pyrrha waits for Nora to jump on. Nora hops on, charging up her hammer before hitting the trigger, blasting herself into the air. Pyrrha and I stumble a bit; the bridge is unstable, and is already falling apart. Luckily, the Deathstalker is still fazed, and doesn't react much.

Nora reaches the peak of her jump, and turns around, blasting another round behind her to boost her falling speed. Spinning, she aligns _Magnhild_'s head straight towards the stinger, and slams down onto it, driving it deeper into the Grimm. The strength of her attack causes the bridge to act like a lever, throwing Pyrrha and I forwards, behind the Deathstalker. Nora adds insult to injury, detonating a final round, collapsing the bridge, taking the Deathstalker with it.

With a small yelp, I fall into a heap on the floor. Pyrrha lands gracefully, grunting a bit at the impact. Nora plops down safely onto the floor, while Ren approaches us, limping a bit, before collapsing as I do.

Flipping over, I look towards the cliff, where future team RWBY is finally finishing off the Nevermore. Ruby runs up the cliff with the Nevermore pinned by the blade of her scythe. At the top, she yanks hard, severing the head of the Nevermore with a shower of rose petals.

**END**

_We... did it._

I smile to myself. _This day... couldn't get any better._

—o—

**15:32**

**Beacon Academy Interrogation Room**

It didn't get better. Of course I had to jinx it.

It's after the Initiation. And I'm stuck in a tiny interrogation room. Well, that's not what the staff said. _He just wants to talk_, they said.

I jut out my lower lip, breathing out and blowing my bangs up. Tapping my finger on the table in front of me, I slouch in the chair I'm sitting in. A small window shines warm light into this desolate room. If I had to guess, it's around five o'clock in the evening.

Soft footsteps muffle from behind the door. Sitting up, I wait as the door slowly opens, and Professor Ozpin comes inside, his signature mug in hand.

"Good afternoon, Noctis." He smiles disarmingly. It must have taken years for him to perfect that smile.

"...Afternoon, sir." I mumble, twiddling my thumbs.

"You know why you are here... correct?"

I nod slowly. I might have an idea.

"Well then." He pushes up his glasses, setting his mug and cane down onto the table. I peer closer. The color and consistency-

_That's not coffee._

Ozpin pulls the chair out in front of him and sits in it. He wraps his hands together and places it onto the table.

"Let's cut to the chase." He begins, his tone serious. "You have no records. No references. No background. Nothing to your name."

I stay silent.

"It's almost as if... you've never existed until today." He stares at me, his eyes piercing into my soul. A freezing chill envelops the room.

I gulp. Darting my eyes away, I open my mouth, but words don't come out.

After a minute of examination, Ozpin changes the subject, a smile of his immediately relieving the pressure. He somehow gleans an answer from my silence. "Now... some of the other staff members have some... reservations about your capabilities."

"But I know better. Your stratagems... while unpolished and rough... they do show the makings of a great huntsman."

I don't correct him. If he can accept me into Beacon... anything goes.

He scans my expression, before another soft smile graces his lips.

"Convince me. Why should I let you into my school?"

I look up, eyes burning. Gripping the edge of the table, I almost put a dent into it. "I don't know if you'll even believe me... If I tell you this, I'll probably be sent to an insane asylum."

Ozpin looks at me in a slight amount of curiosity. "Oh? Whatever do you mean?"

I take a shaky breath. "I have... information, that comes from a reliable source... that the school may be destroyed in the coming years."

The headmaster rubs his chin, leaning forward. "Hm. These are serious claims. Do you have any evidence?"

I clench my hands into a fist with frustration. "I told you, you'll think I'm crazy for this."

Ozpin held his hands into a tent. He holds his mug, ready to take a sip. "No, no, young man. I will listen. You will not be punished."

"Alright... I warned you." I lower my head and take a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"It's about Salem."

Ozpin's mug cracks. "How? How do you know that name?" His voice is calm, but is lined with a small threatening tone.

I slam the table. "I told you! You won't believe me where I got this from!"

His glasses gleam. "Impossible. That name has been lost for centuries..." He looked up. "How? Tell me." His statement is not a request. It is a demand.

"I... I..."

I close my eyes, trying to make myself say it. "Not yet, sir... please."

Ozpin glares at me, showing more emotion than I would have ever thought would come out of the man. After a bit of staring, he relents. "Hm." Ozpin leans back and rubs his chin in thought before nodding. "Very well."

"Welcome to Beacon, Mr. Fleuret. I do hope you enjoy your stay here."

I begin pumping an arm in victory, but Ozpin gives me a stare.

"But you are only here because it is a matter of convenience. If your claims are for naught, you will be expelled and blacklisted from all Academy listings. I do _not_ take kindly to liars."

He stands up, grabbing his cane and mug. Taking a final sip, he opens the door to leave. He looks back at me.

"The ceremony will commence in an hour. Be there."

"W-Wait, sir!" I interject, wanting to say one more thing. Ozpin turns around.

"Can you... please investigate someone named Cinder Fall? She... She's part of the plot to destroy Beacon. Please believe me. She has black hair and a red dress with yellow accents." I quickly blurt out.

Ozpin takes his time thinking before opening the door further. "Very well. I will grant you this one request."

The door clicks close, and I am alone.

I rest my elbows on top of the table and grip my head. Closing my eyes, I sigh heavily.

_No going back now..._

—o—

**15:57**

**Beacon Academy Cafeteria**

"What was that all about?"

"The headmaster wanted to see me." I say to Yang tonelessly, stabbing at my dinner with a fork. She looks at me to try and decipher my emotions before giving up.

After Initiation, everyone split up to do their own thing. I was stuck inside the interrogation room for most of that time, and spent nearly four hours doing nothing. We slowly begin meeting up in the mess hall, and now we're just wasting time waiting for the team christening ceremony.

"Hello!" A certain red headed girl makes her appearance.

"Hey, Pyrrha." I greet her quietly. Yang echoes me, and Pyrrha makes herself comfortable next to me.

"Where's the rest of our group?" Pyrrha asks, wondering the same thing I am. It's strange that the only person at the mess is Yang.

Yang counts down her fingers. "Well, Ruby ran off to the forge. Weiss, uh... I dunno. Blake just disappeared. Nora and Ren..."

"Hey, guys!"

"Speak of the devils, and they shall appear." I mutter, beginning to poke at my food again.

Nora smiles widely, dragging an unwilling Ren to the empty seats next to Pyrrha. We all greet each other, and Nora runs off to get dinner for the lot of us.

"So what happened?" Pyrrha asks, oblivious to my groaning.

"He went to see the headmaster." Yang answers for her.

"Oh. What for?" She presses.

I place my fork down on my plate. "Regarding my acceptance into Beacon."

Pyrrha nods understandingly. Everyone falls silent as we all collectively poke at our food. The adrenaline rush from the Initiation still hasn't worn out for everyone just yet.

The PA system flares to life, causing the mess hall to fall silent, as everyone in the room begins listening.

"Will all freshmen please report to the auditorium." Goodwitch's voice rings out from the speakers. "I repeat, all freshmen report to the auditorium. The ceremony will begin shortly."

Yang smiles. "You heard the lady."

Everyone gets up and discards their plates, exiting the mess hall. I'm the last one out.

I sigh for the nth time, exiting the cafeteria.

—o—

**16:02**

**Beacon Academy Auditorium**

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Thunderous applause sounds out in the Beacon auditorium as Ozpin reads off names. The portraits of said students arrange themselves on the screens above the stage.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal). Lead by Cardin Winchester." Clapping resumes.

A teacher calls Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and me forward. We walk up the stairs onto the stage.

Looking up at the screen, it displays our mugshots. Mine is the only one that's empty.

"Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie." Ozpin looks at me. I look away. "And Noctis Fleuret."

"The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as...

"Team NNPR (Napier)." The screen rearranges our names together to form the team name with our initials. Nora hugs Ren happily, and he reluctantly reciprocates, though not without a smile.

"Lead by..."

Ozpin's lips flap in slow motion. "Noctis Fleuret."

I take in a sharp breath. Ozpin smiles at me, nodding. Looking to my left, Pyrrha gives a soft and encouraging smile. I take a deep breath. I didn't really expect to be the leader of a team, let alone one as important as this. At least this will allow for a good amount of connections.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin addresses me, still a bit suspicious from before. However, he still steps forward, hand outstretched. Confidently, I grasp his hand with my own, shaking it.

As we exit the stage, I watch as Ruby and her friends are inducted as team RWBY (Ruby). They all react accordingly, Ruby gasping at the revelation, Weiss seething, Blake indifferent, and Yang ecstatic.

I clap alongside the crowd. But somehow, I just have the feeling that something's going to go wrong.

—o—

**A/N: It's over... the Initiation is over and Noctis now is in command of his own team. Yatta desu ne! Sorry...**

**I hope I haven't made him too OP... Don't want a Gary Stu on my hands...**

**Please review, I want to see what you think! See you next chapter!**


	7. Second Life

Chapter 7: Second Life

—o—

**? ? ?**

**?:?**

**? ? ?**

Am I... dreaming?

No... I don't think I am.

But what is this?

I walk around aimlessly in a pitch black darkness, not even sure what I'm even trying to do. After a few moments, I reach... a window? At least it looks like one. I peer through it.

_Woah... am I looking at a memory?_

I place my hands against the glass and look inside.

The memory begins playing out.

_After the ceremony last night, we headed to the student union, that is, the common room, for the freshmen. Entering the building, Goodwitch was busy passing out dorm rooms for each team. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren sat in chairs against the wall, patiently waiting their turn._

_"Noctis!" Pyrrha stood from her chair, waving for me to come to them._

_"Team NNPR!" Goodwitch called out. Looking at Pyrrha, I shrugged before walking to the professor._

_Fidgeting in place, I handed over my Scroll to Goodwitch, whom synced it to a tablet of hers. Flashing green, the professor handed it back to me, and I glanced at the screen. It had directions to NNPR's room, and the passcode worked via near-field communication, meaning I only had to tap my Scroll against the lock of the door to open._

_"We're here." Ren's monotone voice pierced my eardrums. The memory flashed around me. My teammates materialized next to me, and the light of the student union disappeared, a long dark corridor replacing the surroundings. Looking to the right, my Scroll beeped as I placed it next to the door handle. Across from us, light spilled out from underneath RWBY's dorm room. Loud, yet muffled shouting can be heard from behind their door._

_With a deep breath, I shoved inwards, the door clicking open. Shadows covered the floor as I fully pushed in the door. The moonlight poked from behind the closed curtains across from the entrance._

_"This... is our home, now... for the next four years." I remember saying. With a quick glance, I palmed the wall, flicking on the light switch. Stepping aside, I allowed for the rest of my team to file inside, getting themselves comfortable._

_Nora ran for the bed at the northeast end of the room, relative to the entrance. Pyrrha took the bed next to hers. I glanced at Ren, and he shrugged, not particularly caring which bed he got. I took the northwest corner bed._

_The rest of the night was a blur. Everyone unpacked their belongings, and some service students, probably juniors or higher, came by the freshmen dorms, dropping off uniforms. One of them took me away for a while, giving me necessary supplies, like pens and notebooks. He said that they were from the headmaster._

_I went to sleep feeling terrible. I was still trying to cope with the fact that my old life was no more, but coupled with the fact that Ozpin could rightfully expel me for literally any reason, well, it sent me into a small bout of self-loathing._

The memory falls apart.

I back away from the window as the scene goes black. Pondering to myself on why it was so important to see this memory, another immediately takes its place. I look inside once more.

The scene begins with a view of the sky, but as the angle pans down, the horizon forms an ominous red contrasting with the black sky. There are no stars, and it seems like the sun is still out. A large castle-like structure is placed in the center of the scene, surrounded by natural formations of mountains.

_What the hell is this...? A premonition?_

As the angle pans even further down, I gasp as I notice someone resembling me standing in front of the building. He quickly begins walking towards the castle.

He climbs the stairs that reach to the entrance. Pushing inward with a grunt, my clone enters the building. The scene changes, viewing the man that looks like me from inside the castle. The red light from the outside spills inward. Torches that line the pillars at the side of the hallway light up one by one, forming somewhat of a pathway towards the end of the corridor. To a throne room probably.

He walks down the hallway with purpose, walking for quite some time before reaching yet another set of stairs. Climbing them, he reaches the top, to yet another set of large wooden doors.

He kicks them open this time.

The wood splinters, and his shadow reaches to the end of the room. He walks inside, and the door suddenly closes behind him. A chandelier hanging above the room flares to life, lighting up the throne room. At the end sat a familiar figure on a throne. She stands up.

Salem. An insane smile crosses her lips and she stands up from her throne. No words are exchanged.

My doppelganger's Semblance activates in an explosion of crystals. My mind races as more than one weapon orbits him. The wheel of weapons complete multiple revolutions as my eyes dart from left to right, recognizing them.

_What the!? Crescent Rose... Myrtenaster... Gambol Shroud... Ember Celica... Magnhild... Miló and Akoúo... Stormflower..._

_And my sword..._

He run at Salem without a noise. Suddenly, the scene glows bright, and it quickly begins hurting to watch. My clone's movements slow to a stop, and my thoughts go fuzzy as my vision goes white.

I wake up.

—o—

**April 3**

**07:54**

**Team NNPR's Dormitory**

My eyes open. My body twitches as sleep paralysis slowly fades away. My breathing quickens, the rush of air through my nostrils audible. Struggling under the weight of the blanket, I twist and turn, falling unceremoniously out of my bed with a loud thud.

I flail around on the floor like a dying whale before realizing I'm finally awake, back in reality. Placing a hand on my chest, I wait for my heart to slow down before I take in my surroundings. Everything's back to normal. Back in NNPR's dorm room. I'm okay.

Lying still on the floor, I contemplate the scenes that ran through my mind. The harder I thought about it, the faster the dream fades from my mind. Shaking my head, I dismiss the dream as trivial, and stop bothering to remember the details. A bit of shuffling fabric catches my attention when I sit up.

_Guess they're waking up now... Sorry about that, you guys._

I take a glance at the digital clock on the desk near the door. It reads '07:57'. No AM or PM. Remnant runs on 24-hour time.

_Class starts at nine, I think... so we have an hour to get ready._

Everyone is still taking their sweet time getting up, so I take the opportunity to steal the bathroom first, snatching away my uniform. Looking into the mirror, I let go of a breath, happy that I'm back to my normal, 17-year-old self.

I guess I'll take this time to explain how my timetable works. Another service student came by last night, asking me to head up to Ozpin's office. The headmaster was surprisingly lenient towards me, letting me choose classes for the semester. I was required to take at least 6 classes each semester, so that I could graduate from Beacon.

Of course, I went with Computer Programming and Engineering as my primary course, and major.

_"I'll start with something I'm familiar with."_ I remembered justifying to the headmaster.

We did have mandatory courses as well, such as Grimm Studies 101, Intro to First Aid, World History, Dust Chemistry, and Combat. There are also basic core classes, such as mathematics, language, and physical sciences, though rather than required by law, these courses are instead recommended... _strongly_ recommended.

I not so subtly asked Ozpin what team RWBY's schedule was, to base mine off of theirs. With an eyebrow raised, he showed me.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I'm taking Grimm Studies, Dust Chemistry, and Combat, ending at around 4- I mean 16:00 in the evening. For Tuesday and Thursday, I'm taking World History, Engineering, and Tactics. With only two days of instruction per week, my Tuesdays and Thursdays end an hour later, at around 17:00.

_Fuck... I only have one real semester to get good, too. The more I think about, the more impossible it seems._

Stepping out of the bathroom, I roll my shoulders, testing the range of my uniform. It's stiff. I don't like it.

The rest of my team is still getting up, and Nora zooms into the bathroom after me, slamming the door closed, the rush of air kicking my hair up. Ren mechanically and methodically raises himself up from his bed. Pyrrha looks half asleep standing up, stumbling around like a zombie. With the exception of Nora, team NNPR is not made up of morning people, even me. Today was an exception.

"Hey, guys."

Pyrrha and Ren respond in kind.

"Good morning." Pyrrha's voice is quiet as she yawns, covering her mouth.

"So... um..." I begin, 'hming' and 'ahing', unable to put my thoughts into words. I'm bored. I really want to talk about something instead of sitting in silence for the rest of the morning as we wait for everyone to get ready.

"What's... what's your, uh, classes... today? We'll start with that, yeah." I pat myself on the back.

Pyrrha smiles, giggling somewhat. "Well, today I have Grimm Studies first, then Dust Chemistry next... and Combat class last." Pyrrha counts off her fingers.

I nod, not surprised. "That's great. Our schedules line up."

Pyrrha laughs lightly. She pushes the conversation forward, turning her attention towards Ren. "How about you, Ren?"

The boy fishes out his transcript from below his bed, unfolding it and reading off it. "Grimm Studies, Chemistry, Combat."

"And Nora?" I ask.

Ren immediately answers, perking up a bit, reciting off lines like a programmed robot. "Grimm Studies, Chem, Combat, as well. She had me memorize her entire schedule last night."

A ghost of a smile crosses my lips. "Hey, looks like we'll be all together."

Pyrrha returns the smile. "That is true."

I deflate. "Ah, but my other classes are... electives. On Tuesday and Thursday, the only time I'll ever meet up is outside of class..."

At this moment, Nora pops out from the bathroom, a bit of steam rising through the doorway. She's in her uniform, and her ever present smile is plastered onto her face. I groan, heading to my bed and fishing for my Scroll under my pillow.

"So, who's ready for our first day!?" I block out Nora's enthusiasm, focusing on the backlit screen in my hands.

Suddenly remembering something, I rummage through my pile of stuff, trying to find an item I received. With a tiny 'aha!', I pull out a small plastic box. Inside held an IM card, allowing for global service across the CCT platform, gifted to me by Ozpin, after I explained my situation to him. It's weird how compatible my phone is to Remnant's technology.

Popping open the IM tray on my Scroll, I gently set the card down into the slot, making sure it's snug, before sliding the tray back in, locking it in place.

My Scroll flashes as reception is achieved. Three bars out of four, not bad. Unfolding a small piece of paper taped to the back of my Scroll, four numbers are hastily scribbled onto it, with four different styles of handwriting. A small winky face is drawn on the corner, Ruby's work, if I had to guess. Names are written next to each number, as a reminder of whose is who. Inputting them into my Scroll, I scratch my nose as team RWBY's Scroll numbers are registered in my contacts.

I glance at the three members of team NNPR... my... team.

_It still feels so weird thinking about it..._

I'll have to ask them for their numbers later.

Playing with my Scroll for a hot minute, I... wait. I wait for the rest of team NNPR to get ready. Ren slinks into the bathroom for around 5 minutes or so, and Pyrrha takes a little while longer inside. When they are all finished, and in their uniforms, the clock on the desk reads '08:23'.

"We all ready?" I stand up from my bed.

Everyone nods.

"Okay, we still have time for breakfast. We have about 30 minutes until our first class."

Nora jumps up happily. "Heck yeah! I'm starved! Let's goooooo..." Nora's voice quiets as she disappears in a cloud of smoke, running straight out of the room and downstairs to the mess hall.

Everyone looks out of the room.

"...We should follow her." Ren states. He sighs, shuffling towards Nora's bed. "I'll take her belongings."

Grabbing all of our necessary supplies, we begin heading out to the cafeteria. I close the door to our room and check the lock.

I direct my hearing towards RWBY's dorm room. It's silent.

Pyrrha walks up next to me. "Should we... wake them?"

With shaking shoulders, I chuckle quietly. "They'll learn their lesson soon enough."

Pyrrha leaves me be, catching up with Ren, who has two backpacks on his shoulders. Garnering a little sympathy, I walk up to RWBY's dorm room and not so gently slam my hand against the wood twice. I smile as muffled thuds can be heard, and even a bit of shouting when I strain my ears. Quickly backing away, I quietly run to the end of the hallway, rounding the corner as a door opens.

"Who the heck was that?"

I hold back my laughter.

—o—

**08:59**

**Professor Port's Classroom**

_Okay... Port's classroom should be right... here._

Lowering the school map, a large wooden door fills my vision. Looking side to side, I glance at NNPR to confirm. They shrug, and open the door without hesitation. Pocketing the map, I follow after them.

"...WE'RE GONNA BE LATEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Ruby's shrill voice pierces the air and slams into the four of us with the force of a jet engine.

Looking behind me, Ruby sprints at full speed, with Weiss, Blake, and Yang not far behind. Moving out of the way, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang run into the classroom, but Blake accidentally bumps into me, forcing me to grab onto her to prevent her from dropping to the floor.

"...That could've been a nasty fall."

Blake blushes a bit from my statement, and stands up straight, pulling herself out of my arms, mumbling a small apology before rushing into the classroom.

Looking back at my team, Nora waggles her eyebrows excessively. I glare at her.

NNPR enters Port's classroom, notably _not_ out of breath, and takes a seat the row above RWBY.

"Welcome! Welcome to my class!" Port's loud booming voice allows for him to forgo the use of a microphone.

He greets everyone, and waits a few moments for the last students to file inside, before introducing himself.

"My name is Professor Peter Port, and I teach Grimm Studies 101, here at this prestigious academy!"

"Now, we are not going to go over any material today; the first day shall be mostly about getting to know about my class, and the topics I will be covering over the course of the semester."

"Grimm Studies... well the name is self-explanatory. Grimm Studies 101 is a course on the study of Grimm! And the nature of Grimm, their physiology, their biology, their history. However, this class is _not_ an in depth look at the Grimm. No, it is only surface level deep! As noted by the 101, this is an _introductory _course..."

Nodding along to Port, he directs us to the paper in front of each student, passed out beforehand. It's a syllabus, and he spends quite a lot of time on it. After answering some questions, he spirals down a tangent, and begins telling his story as in canon. He paces back and forth from one end of the classroom to the other.

"...Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in."

Port strokes his mustache, watching the room, a la Brock from Pokémon. "Huntsmen. Huntresses. Individuals sworn to protect the innocent. Individuals sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

Ruby starts drawing on a piece of paper. Weiss looks a bit irritated with her leader's antics.

"A true huntsman must be honorable."

Ruby shows a crude drawing of Professor Port, dubbed 'Professor Poop', to her teammates. Yang breaks out in subdued laughter, Blake's lip twitch into a tiny smile, while Weiss's expression darkens even more.

"A true huntsman must be dependable."

Ruby balances a book with the tip of her pencil, puckering her lips and crossing her eyes. Yang's laughter grows louder.

"A true huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise."

Ruby picks her nose.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Having enough, Weiss snaps, her face glowing red hot. She slams the desk and raises her hand into the air. "I DO SIR!"

Port raises an eyebrow, a bit bemused at Weiss's outburst, before he turns around, walking towards a rattling cage. He gestures for Weiss to step onto the lecture stage.

"Well then. Let's test your skill. Come forth, Ms. Schnee."

Weiss steps up to the plate.

"Let me explain the intention of this test." Port begins.

He points at Weiss. "You, Ms. Schnee, will have the opportunity to display your prowess to your fellow peers. Today, you will fight a Grimm."

The lecture hall explodes into hushed conversation.

Weiss does not complain. She stands tall, taking out her Scroll and calling her rocket locker. Within a few minutes, she is in her huntress outfit, and still a bit incensed in temper. She glares at Ruby one more time before unsheathing _Myrtenaster_, holding it skywards, close to her chest.

Team RWBY (minus Weiss, of course) cheers her on. Yang whoops loudly, pumping her fists in the air. Blake waves a dark red pennant, with RWBY emblazoned on it. Ruby just flails her arms around in an attempt to cheer.

Weiss grinds her teeth in annoyance, and lowers her sword, readying herself for what Port has in store for her.

"Is the combatant ready?" Port asks, raising up his blunderbuss weapon up.

"Yes." Weiss answers curtly, sliding a foot back and lowering her body closer to the ground. She points _Myrtenaster_ at the cage.

"Alright. Let the match, begin!" Port lets his axe fall, the sharp edge of the head slicing through the lock like a hot knife through butter. The cage door falls forward onto the floor, the vibration causing my teeth to chatter. I grip my desk in anticipation. Though I know that Weiss will win the battle, I still feel a bit anxious.

The Boarbatusk springs out of the cage, charging towards Weiss. She proceeds to dodge, and everything goes along with canon. However, the close calls she makes doesn't make me feel any better.

"Noctis." Ren catches my attention. He then points to my hands, and I notice that I'm gripping the edge so hard the wood is splintering. Blinking, I let go of the desk and start playing with my hands instead.

_Why the hell am I so nervous?_

Weiss loses her rapier in her scuffle with the Grimm, and she yells at Ruby for distracting her. Weiss is immensely agitated, and tanks attacks that even I would dodge in her situation. The Grimm charges her once more, and Weiss calls upon her Semblance, the glyph stopping the Boarbatusk in its tracks, flipping it over. Forming another glyph above her, Weiss jumps up, her feet sticking to it. Pushing forward, she skewers the Grimm as it dies with a pitiful squeal.

Standing up with difficulty, Weiss's face is drenched in sweat as she removes _Myrtenaster_ from the decomposing corpse and sheathes it back to her waist. Putting on a façade of strength, she shakily backs away from the dead Boarbatusk. stumbling a few times and almost falling onto her back.

The students in the class clap hesitantly, and Port congratulates Weiss.

Port looks at the clock at the back of the room. "Well, I'm afraid this is where we will leave off for today. Next class, I will start lecturing, so bring your books, students!"

Weiss somehow looks angrier than before, and stomps out of the room, pushing some students out of the way. Ruby looks guilty, and Yang tries to comfort her, rubbing her back. Blake sits in her seat, awkwardly unsure of what to do. I look back at my team, and they start standing up, ready to leave. I reluctantly follow in their footsteps, only looking back to see the three girls' expressions.

I look away. Their expressions hurt me to my core.

—o—

**10:15**

**Beacon Academy Cafeteria**

"Beacon is so different from Signal."

"Feeling the burn?" Yang smirks, placing a hand on the cafeteria table. Ruby forms a tent with her hands and hides in it.

"College is extremely different from high school, ya know." I chime in, sitting across from Ruby, Blake, and Yang. My team is sitting next to me. Weiss and Pyrrha are missing from the table.

Ruby lifts her head up, her arms still hiding her mouth, and thus muffling her voice. Her eyebrows do the talking instead. "Yeah... I have so much free time now! It's just... weird!"

"Most of your learning'll be done outside of the class. Self-studying and all that. The professors might give out the odd homework once in a while, but we're expected to learn the material ourselves." I inform her.

Ruby pouts, her eyebrows furrowing. "That doesn't mean I have to like it..."

After a brief moment of silence, Pyrrha enters the cafeteria, an unreadable expression on her face. She sits down next to Nora at the end of the table as all six of us stare at her.

"Where were you?" I decide to initiate.

"I was speaking... well, I was _trying_ to speak to Weiss." She makes herself comfortable on the bench.

"Didn't go so hot, then?" I infer from Pyrrha's face.

Pyrrha shakes her head, closing her eyes slowly. "I thought I would speak to her as a friend, but... she wouldn't even respond to my prompting." Pyrrha looks guiltily at Ruby. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I tried."

Ruby deflects her apology, rubbing her hands together. "No... I should be sorry. I shouldn't ask you to do something that I should do myself. I made her angry."

Blake joins in on the conversation. "No, Weiss isn't entirely blameless, either."

"What do you mean?" Ruby tilts her head in confusion, looking at Blake.

Blake coughs into her fist, a bit embarrassed at having everyone's attention directed at her. "What I mean is, Weiss let her temper get the better of her. And not to mention, back when teams were formed last night, she was shocked when you were named leader."

"And she was clearly upset with that decision, and you could tell if you looked at her face." Blake finishes.

I rub my chin in thought. "That makes a lot of sense. When you were goofing off in Port's class-" Ruby visibly turns a few shades of red darker.

"Weiss probably thought that you were unfit as the leader of the team. And your actions reaffirmed her opinion on you: that you have done nothing to deserve your position-"

"But I have!" Ruby interrupts me loudly, slamming her hands onto the table. "I beat Torchwick; and Miss Goodwitch saw it!"

I hold out a hand to stop her. "That's the thing: _Weiss doesn't know that._ All she knows is that you're some random goofball who took what she thinks is her rightful place as leader of team RWBY."

Ruby lowers her gaze, and she wipes at the crooks of her eyes. "Weiss... she... she really hates me... doesn't she?"

Pyrrha shakes her head, and speaks to try and console Ruby. "No, she doesn't... hate you. That's a strong word. I'd say that... she just dislikes your nonchalant attitude towards things."

"I care, though! I really, really, really care! I _know_ that I was given a privilege to even have the chance to come here... I _know_ that going to Beacon at 15 is almost unheard of... But I want to be a huntress! That's been my dream ever since I was a little girl!" Ruby protests.

Yang gives out some advice, rubbing Ruby on the shoulder. "Look Rubes... you'll just have to speak to the Ice Queen yourself. Explain your position. Apologize to her. She'll probably forgive you when she cools down."

Ruby hides herself behind her arms again. "'Probably' isn't good enough..."

We all sit in an awkward silence as the conversation dies down. Nora and Ren are still stuck in their little own world as we wait quietly. Luckily, looking at the clock, it's almost time for our second class.

"Ah, we have Chem with Coffey, next. How about you guys?" Yang inquires.

I grin. "Same here. For all of us." I gesture to my team.

Yang returns my grin with full force, punching the air. "Alright! That's luck if I've ever seen it!"

I chuckle half-heartily, a bead of sweat falling down my cheek. "Yeah... luck..." I mumble softly. Totally not rigged. At all. Nope.

Ruby sighs. "Will Weiss even be there?"

"Most definitely. Dust _is_ her speciality. Remember that lecture she gave you when you met her?" I tease Ruby, causing her to blush.

"She was being a jerk about it, though!"

I laugh, disengaging. "Yeah. She'll show up. If she doesn't, I'll eat my hat."

Ruby frowns. "You don't... have... a hat...?"

...

"It's an expression."

—o—

**11:00**

**Professor Coffey's Classroom**

Sure enough, Weiss does show up to class. Albeit later than everyone else, and she sits the seat furthest away from Ruby as possible.

The class proceeds as normal, as normal as first days go. Coffey introduces herself, explains the class in detail, and goes over what we will learn over the course of the semester. Nothing too special. She doesn't particularly stand out as professors go, but my gut feeling tells me she'll be a good teacher regardless. Her personality is quite infectious, and I find myself laughing along to some of her jokes.

Ruby takes glances at Weiss every once in a while, and every time Weiss even looks in her general direction, Ruby stiffly turns around, her cape fluttering a bit.

It seems that every hour, something happens that makes Weiss despise Ruby even more. At this rate, Weiss might actually hate her team leader.

I don't wanna stick around when that happens.

—o—

**13:00**

**Beacon Academy Arenas**

And finally... Combat class. Hoo boy. I am not looking forward to this.

Everyone around me is in their huntsmen gear. Grasping at my glove, I nervously follow after my team.

Opening the door to the arenas, Professor Goodwitch greets us with crossed arms. The entirety of the freshmen population steps through, and huddles around the area below the arena. Goodwitch steps onto the arena, and clears her throat.

"Students."

Everyone freezes. It seems her reputation precedes her.

"As you know, my name is Glynda Goodwitch. I am the professor of combat here at Beacon, and it is my job to whip all of you into shape to become full fledged huntsmen and huntresses." She slaps her riding crop into her hand, her Aura flashing.

"It will be hard. It will be difficult. But you will thank me when you graduate from this academy."

"And we will begin lessons. Today." Goodwitch looks around, and points her riding crop at a random student.

"You." The student lets out a small sound.

"And you." She points to the girl sitting next to him. She shrinks into herself.

"Follow me to the arena." Goodwitch orders. They hesitate.

"Now." Goodwitch's assertive tone freezes the air, and slapping the crop against her hand doesn't help, either. The two students stand up straighter, and run up the stairs towards the arena without being ushered. Goodwitch is truly goddamned scary.

Goodwitch steps up between them, facing us. She has them standing opposite from each other, a few meters apart from each other, where they would have to shout to talk to each other.

"We will begin with a tournament style duel. For this class, _you_ will be responsible for your own teaching. I will merely act as an advisor, and tell you what you are doing wrong."

A few murmurs arise from the freshmen.

"Names, please." Goodwitch asks the two students.

"Pearl Miellat./Samuel Celadon." The girl and boy reply respectively.

Goodwitch taps on her Scroll, the large screen above the arena flaring to life. The names given flash on the screen, with the mugshots of the two students appearing next to them. Two Aura bars appear below their names. The bars slowly fills up red, then yellow, and finally green, as they meet in the middle.

"Ms. Miellat. Mr. Celadon. You will be fighting each other." Goodwitch states bluntly. The two students nod hesitantly.

Goodwitch backs away from the center of the arena. "The rules are as such: When your aura is in the red, you lose. When you are knocked out of the ring, you lose. All strategies are fair game."

Pearl readies her weapon, a bo staff of sorts, and twirls it around before holding it behind and deliberately holding an open hand towards her opponent. Shane unfurls dual kukris from his back, holding one over his head and the other in front of him.

"All combatants ready?" Goodwitch stands at the far end of the arena, to keep from interfering.

"Yes." Pearl and Samuel reply simultaneously.

"Very good." Goodwitch sets a timer on the screen for five minutes, and nods to the two students. "You may begin."

Pearl attacks first, causing Samuel to defend. I divert my full attention towards the two students, trying to understand the moves that they perform. The two of them test each other's limits and boundaries, before picking up the pace and fighting a real duel.

It's frightening how well they can fight. These are 17-year-olds for Chrissake. How the hell can I even catch up? And they aren't even serious right now, cause this is only training.

I try to pick up their mistakes during their bout, and surprisingly, I do pick up a good amount. Samuel is sometimes too aggressive; his Aura is gradually chipping away. Pearl disengages too quickly; she doesn't press her advantage. Etcetera, etcetera. It's quite weird. It's like my mind is working overdrive.

I also notice that Samuel has used his Semblance already. It seems that he can manipulate water, fitting, considering his name. His Semblance does have limits, though; he can't magically conjure up water, he has to find a source. And, disgustingly, his source is... his sweat. Yeah, that's right, he uses his own sweat for his Semblance. And probably anyone else's sweat if he tries to.

Pearl's revulsion is easily visible as she notices droplets rising from Samuel's face. She jumps away, and quickly splits her staff into two batons. Handholds sprout perpendicular from the sticks, forming tonfas. Looking closely, the tonfas have small holes in them, possibly barrels for a gun.

Samuel predictably slashes at Pearl with his kukris, and she blocks with a punch, the tonfas protecting her forearm. The tonfa smashes into Samuel's jaw, and she presses a trigger, firing a pistol round, I think, and knocking Samuel off balance. Finally pressing her advantage, Pearl dances around him, slapping him silly and dazing him. Samuel's Aura is in the orange-green; a few more big hits might finish him. Pearl steps away for a second, reforming her tonfas back into a staff. Winding up her attack, she slams an Aura coated staff against his body, sending Samuel flying into the air, and out of the ring. Match over.

Pearl is visibly winded, and she drops to a knee, using her staff as support. Samuel is convulsing on the floor, his kukris still in the arena. Goodwitch makes her way to Samuel's prone body, checking for any major injuries. Helping him up, Samuel groans as he clutches his jaw and stomach, hobbling back towards the bleachers in shame. The students in the bleachers are completely silent, waiting for Goodwitch's judgement.

Surprisingly, she points out the same thing that I thought the two students were doing wrong. Maybe this 'Tactics' thing might work out...

Goodwitch steps to the center of the arena, intent on lecturing. "Now, students, you must understand that there are two levels of Aura. Passive and active. Your passive Aura does not protect you from fatal injuries, but can provide some levels of healing. Active Aura is Aura you bring out willingly, and even project outwards with enough training."

"This active Aura is what I will be trying to teach you over the school year, and even beyond that." Goodwitch looks at Pearl, who is up on her feet, her exhaustion mostly gone. Goodwitch gestures towards the girl.

"Ms. Miellat here has demonstrated amazing potential in Aura use. Those with eagle eyes would have noticed that she powered up her last strike with Aura." Pearl blushes a bit at the praise, smiling nervously.

_Wait... was that supposed to be hard to see? Her staff was friggin' glowing!_

Goodwitch moves on, and explains the schedule for each week.

"You will train here every time you come to class. You will fight with your peers, and I will supervise your training. You may come up with your own training regimes, ranging from one on one duels to team-based exercise. At the end of every week, starting from next week, I will test you. I will pit students against each other in tournament style duels as shown today. Any questions?"

Goodwitch is met with complete silence.

"Very good." She looks at the clock. "You are dismissed."

The crowd of freshmen slowly break up as everyone makes for the exit. I look at my team, and they nod at me. Team building exercises it is, then.

...

I am not looking forward to tomorrow.

—o—

**A/N: A slow chapter, now. I want to flesh out the setting and the mechanics and stuff. I also want to set definite rules for Aura and all that.**

**Also...**

**Two more OCs yayyyyy... Yeah, I'm not sure if these should be one off characters or not. They won't be a crucial part of the story, sometimes they'll show up for fights and stuff but I think that'll be it.**

**I'd like to see what you think. See you in the next chapter.**


	8. Black Hand

Chapter 8: Black Hand

—o—

**April 4**

**15:21**

**Beacon Academy Arenas**

"Heads up!"

"Oh shit ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit-" I stumble forward, almost on all fours, sprinting away.

_Magnhild_ impacts the ground, a large explosion rocking the arena. The shockwave knocks me off my feet, and out of the arena. Ring out. Damn it.

With my face in the dirt, I punch the ground, my Aura shielding my knuckles. Lifting my face from the floor, it's covered in smudges. Blinking to get the dust particles out of my eyes, I slowly pick myself up.

"Urgh... tag... out..." I crawl away from the crater caused by my fall.

Pyrrha pats me on the back sympathetically, accidentally knocking me back down onto the floor. Reaching a desperate hand out, my strength fails me, and it falls back to the ground.

Turning over onto my back, I watch as Pyrrha engages Nora, immediately going toe to toe with her, dancing around her slower attacks and chipping away at her Aura. She's so good it's unreal.

_And I'll have to catch up to her if I really want things to change._

Ren stands on the sidelines, arms crossed and waiting for the moment that Nora will tag out. Looking at the screen above the arena, Nora's Aura is around less than half. Pyrrha's is almost untouched. Nora looks up at the screen and screams in mock horror.

"Ah! Ren, switch!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Pyrrha yells out with a fierce grin. She bashes Nora with _Akoúo,_ and throws her up into the air. With moves straight out of Devil May Cry, Pyrrha jumps up and straight up _juggles _Nora with a quick combo, throwing hits as fast as she can. Nora's Aura is down in the low double digits, and Pyrrha finishes with a flying cartwheel, the impact outside of the arena finally shattering Nora's Aura. Pyrrha gracefully lands with one knee and a palm on the floor.

Ren slowly raises his hand skyward, palm open.

"I forfeit."

Nora comically lifts her head up from the crater, her face covered in a layer of dirt, same as me.

"EEHHH!? Ren, what are you saying!?"

Ren lowers his hand. "I do not believe that I would stand a chance against Pyrrha, and considering your condition..." He trails off.

Nora blushes in embarrassment when Ren points out her defeat. "Rennnnn, you gotta! Who's gonna defend my honor!?" Nora's voice cracks.

"I-" Ren begins before being interrupted.

Nora jumps up from the floor, suddenly disappearing and reappearing next to Ren, with wide puppy eyes and quivering lip. Ren's eyes shake as a bead of sweat falls from his cheek.

"Pretty please... Renny." Nora's voice is unusually soft.

Ren turns away, a small dust of pink visible on his cheeks. He digs his fingers into his palm as he relents, lowering his head in a sigh.

"...Alright. I'll fight her." Ren tells Nora.

Nora smiles toothily, before giving Ren a hug from the side. He shakes his head, holding it with a hand as a growing headache makes itself known.

"Thanks, Ren! You're the bestest!" Nora looks up at Ren. Looking away, Ren finally reciprocates the hug with a small tug, before stepping onto the arena and meeting Pyrrha in the center. His twin machine pistols fall from his sleeves and into his hands. He gets into his stance, standing sideways, placing one hand behind his back, and a hand forward, close to his chest.

Waiting until Ren fully turns away, Nora rubs her hands together and giggles wildly, a small glint in her eyes. I slowly stumble my way besides Nora, clutching my abdomen.

"You're really good at that." I comment, letting go of my side as the pain slowly ebbs away.

"Yeah, well, Ren sometimes just needs the motivation." Nora smiles as Ren and Pyrrha square off.

"He's a smart guy, but he doesn't believe in himself. So I have to do it for him!" Nora jabs her thumb into her chest, giggling to herself.

I smirk sideways, only moving my eyes to glance at Nora, who begins cheering Ren on. Crossing my arms, I wince and grab at my side as the pain flares up again, though I do my best to match Nora's attitude, cheering on Pyrrha in turn. The two combatants, equally motivated, begin fighting harder, and faster.

Ren really does downplay his effectiveness. He can hold up with Pyrrha, though his strained face shows the effort he has to put in to even match her ability. He can't afford to get hit, and dodges most of Pyrrha's attacks. Pyrrha puts on the pressure, making almost no mistakes that Ren can capitalize on.

However, this is the first time these two are fighting each other. Ren's acrobatics have him dancing around Pyrrha like a top. His combination of martial arts and close quarters battle is deadly, draining a quarter of Pyrrha's Aura in a flash. Firing in controlled bursts, Ren's pistols pepper Pyrrha, forcing her to jump away behind her shield to gain some distance.

"Yeah, Ren! Show her who's boss!" Nora yells, shaking a fist in the air.

Pyrrha, not to be outdone, extends _Miló_ into a long polearm, and charges Ren with her shield in front. Quickly sweeping Ren off his feet, she jumps and stabs at the ground where Ren would be if he didn't roll out of the way. Dazed, Ren stands up and immediately gets bashed in the head with _Akoúo_, forcing him into a backwards roll.

Grabbing his head, Ren quickly lifts _Stormflower_ up and blindly fires at Pyrrha in full auto, the rounds slicing into her Aura. Forcing her to defend, Ren stumbles to his feet and tries to stab at Pyrrha with _Stormflower_, who counters with her shield, causing the blades to dig into the metal. Pushing up, Pyrrha's strength overpowers Ren's, and she knocks him off balance.

Pyrrha spins around, collapsing _Miló_ back to its xiphos form and pointing it at Ren's exposed throat. He freezes as the metal touches against his Aura, it reflexively hardening into a visible pink barrier. A slight gust of wind blows Ren's hair upwards and flutters his clothes.

"Yield."

Ren holds up his hands, dropping his machine pistols back into his sleeves. He sighs, closing his eyes before speaking.

"I yield."

Pyrrha smiles. "Okay." She retracts the blade away from Ren's throat and sheathes it to her waist. Taking a deep breath to calm her heart, Pyrrha clips _Akoúo_ to her back and extends an open hand to Ren. He pauses before grasping Pyrrha's hand and shaking.

"It was a good fight." Pyrrha comments, smiling again to ease the competitive tension.

"Of course."

"WHAAAAT!? Ren, you lost!?" Nora clambers atop the arena and runs at the young man, who tenses up and comtemplates running for his life. Nora makes the decision for him, crashing into him with a tackle.

Grabbing at his collar, Nora shakes Ren like a ragdoll, causing his eyes to roll backwards. He holds out his hands in surrender, failing to get Nora to stop. Nora stops before any real damage could be done, and holds him close to her face.

"How could you do this to me!? My honor! My pride! You're gonna have to pay me back! With PANCAKES! A GRATUITOUS AMOUNT OF PANCAKES!"

Ren nods swiftly, agreeing just to get out of Nora's ironclad stranglehold. Satisfied, the girl lets go of Ren's collar. Grateful, he takes lungfuls of air, and drops his head to the floor, intent on passing out and greeting the sweet release of sleep.

Pyrrha chuckles nervously at the display, and brings up her Scroll to desync from the arena, the Aura meters of team NNPR disappearing from the screen above.

Taking the stairs like a normal person, I walk up next to Pyrrha, a slight limp still in my gait from the bruising Nora gave me.

"Noctis."

"Pyrrha."

We stare in silence. I bow down. "Please train me!"

Pyrrha sputters. "W-What!? Where is this coming from, Noctis?" She chuckles nervously.

"As you know, I'm not a very good fighter. I want you to train me! Even if it'll take years, I'll do it. Anything you ask of me, I'll do it. Just please train me!" I lower my head and my back until I reach a ninety degree angle. Pyrrha breaks a sweat.

"Um... you won't have to bribe me, Noctis. I'll train you personally if you ask... it's quite alright." Pyrrha grabs my shoulder, gently pulling me back up to full height.

"Y-You mean it? You'll actually-" Pyrrha shushes me.

"Yes, I will train you. We're a team, remember? Teammates help each other out."

"I... guess you're right." I say.

She smiles at me.

I look at Nora, who pulled Ren up to his feet and is now currently convincing him to go make her the pancakes _now._ Ren is doing all he can to deflect her persuasion, failing miserably.

I stop as I hear a few sets of footsteps approach from the doorway to the arenas. Straining my eyes, three heads of black, yellow, and... black, enter through. Ruby, Yang, and Blake stand at the entrance, scanning the room.

Oh yeah, did I mention that we aren't alone in the arenas?

The room explodes into a cacophony of sound as I remember that other students are using the arenas to practice and train.

"Hey, look, it's team RWBY!" Nora notices the three girls, and jumps off the arena to go greet them.

I glance at Pyrrha before following in Nora's footsteps. Placing a hand behind me, I hop off the elevated surface and down onto ground floor. Pyrrha and Ren take their time to follow suit.

"Oi, hey there guys! What's up?" Yang waves a hand at the four of us.

"I could say the same for you. What are you all doing here?" I rub the back of my head as I watch Nora messing around with Ruby.

Blake steps forward. "We're looking for-"

"Weiss, right?" I guess, interrupting Blake. She flinches. The atmosphere darkens a bit.

"Have you seen her?"

I nod slowly. "...Yeah." I step to the side and point at the end of the room. "She's... over there. She was there when we showed up, too."

Looking to where I'm pointing, Weiss is busy shadow fighting with her eyes closed. She fights imaginary opponents, parrying blows, stabbing and slashing. After every set, she stops and holds her rapier to her chest for a few seconds before starting again, going through the motions. Drops of sweat fall from her forehead and her mouth is open as she breathes heavily.

Ruby stops talking to Nora and frowns as she notices Weiss. With resolve, she begins stepping forward, walking to Weiss. Yang and Blake hang back.

"You're not gonna go with her?" I tell the two girls.

Yang shakes her head. "She's a big girl, now. She'll have to do this herself."

I don't react, standing next to Blake and keeping my eye on Ruby. I clench and unclench my hand nervously. Blake glances at me for a moment before looking back at her leader.

Ruby approaches Weiss, calling out her name. Weiss freezes, flashing her teeth in irritation. Pretending to ignore the girl, Weiss continues her training, turning away from Ruby in a flourish and slashing at the air with _Myrtenaster_. Ruby continues calling out to Weiss, getting closer to the edge of the arena. Ruby frowns and abuses her Semblance to quickly clamber onto the arena to talk to Weiss.

Having enough, Weiss loudly confronts Ruby with a 'What!?'. I'm too far away to listen to the intricacies of the conversation, but I know that it has already soured. The R and W of RWBY get into a screaming match, Weiss moving closer to poke at Ruby. They butt heads, still yelling at the top of their lungs.

Their screams devolve into gibberish. Weiss, whose face is red from yelling, slaps her hand on Ruby's face, pushing her aside and storming away towards the door. Ruby is about to go after her, but sighs and drops to her knees instead.

"Oh no..." Yang comments, watching Weiss exit the room.

"What are you going to do now?" I say after a short silence.

"What is there to do? If Weiss isn't willing to talk to Ruby, there isn't much we _can_ do." Blake points out.

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Well, if you need any help, you can ask me, or, hell." I gesture to my team. "Just ask any of us."

Yang gives us an uneasy smile, before the two of them say their goodbyes. Blake and Yang make their way to Ruby, who has her face in her hands. Yang kneels down next to her, placing a hand around her in comfort. Blake stands stoically, before helping Ruby up after prompting by Yang. Yang wraps an arm around Ruby as they leave the arenas.

My team looks at me expectantly.

"We're done for today." I say.

—o—

**April 7**

**13:23**

**Beacon Academy Ports**

It's been a week now since I've arrived at Beacon. It's so different from Earth... yet it's still so similar. There are parts of Remnant that are so futuristic, and there are parts where it makes me forget that I'm not on Earth anymore.

I took the week to make myself comfortable in my unique situation. I called a meeting with my team to establish a training regimen. Nora, immensely pleased with herself, set up most of it up herself, probably for the better. If she can whoop our collective asses into shape quick enough, I'll probably be able to at least survive an encounter by the end of the year.

During the weekend, I planned to set out for the city of Vale. Today is the day. Signing off the form to leave the campus, I head to the docks, where Bullheads carrying students lift off or land at port. Most of them are second and third years, and they bundle together into their own little groups as I approach my designated Bullhead.

The show itself never really reveals how _loud_ it gets. Bullheads, efficient and nimble in their own right, have to generate that propulsion from somewhere. The whirling of jet engines make my ears ring, and I pull my shirt away from my body to try to cool myself off. Even though it's autumn right now, the constant movement of aircraft generates a ridiculous amount of heat. The air wavers and distorts, and I feel light headed, sweating a bit.

The jet engines spool up and begin kicking up dust from the landing pads, the blue exhaust flames distorting light passing through it with the extreme heat. Wincing, I shield my eyes as a Bullhead rushes concernedly close above the ground towards the east behind Beacon Tower, fluttering the jacket of my huntsman outfit. Stepping forward, I examine the side of the Bullhead I'm to board.

The Bullhead's official designation is the CV-60 Bullhead, which is the civilian version. Pulling up an article on the aircraft, it seems Atlas exports their technology to other nations as one of their primary source of income, aside from the sale of Dust. They don't release their blueprints, however, meaning the kingdoms have to reverse engineer Atlas's technology to repurpose for themselves. The academy then purchases their own Bullheads from the kingdom of Vale, and strips them down to their bare minimum, removing any unnecessary weight, allowing for copious amounts of fuel to be carried.

And on that note, the fuel. Most vehicles on Remnant run on _liquid_ Dust. You heard me right. Liquid Dust. I'm not even going to try to understand how that would work.

"Well, are you gonna get in or what?" A gruff voice rings out from within the Bullhead.

Embarrassed, I shake myself out of my funk and board the Bullhead. Pulling myself up onto the elevated surface, I keep my footing stable on the metal floor. Holding onto the strap above me, I elect to stand rather than sit, considering the ride into Vale will only take a few minutes at most.

The pilot is a middle aged man with a large brushed mustache, his eyes covered by the tinted visor of his helmet. He holds down a button on the panel seated above his head to start the engine, the frame of the Bullhead rattling in response. Waiting for a second, he then flips another switch on the panel, the volume of the jet engines bolted to the wings increasing dramatically. The doors of the Bullhead shut close with a clang, muffling the sound, though the intense vibrations still chatter my teeth. Licking my dry lips, I watch as the pilot flips more switches, his gaze frozen on the gauges in front of him. With a small nod, he disengages the landing system and removes his finger from the ignition, causing the Bullhead to lurch as the propulsion system takes over.

Watching through the window, I take a deep breath as the view of Beacon disappears and the bright blue sky replaces it. The pilot skillfully taxis the Bullhead facing towards the city, and pushes the lever controlling the angle of the engines, turning them horizontal, and causing the Bullhead to pick up speed. As the engines begin warming up, the rumbling slows to a stop, and the soothing sound of liquid Dust combustion fills the cabin. Almost falling into the seat at the end of the Bullhead, I tighten my hold on the strap connected to the ceiling.

Turbulence is minimal as we cross the lake to the mainland. Suddenly, the frame of the aircraft rattles slightly as the air pressure around the Bullhead changes, and I know we're almost there. I press a hand against the small glass window, staring down onto the streets of Vale. Mesmerized by the view, I jolt as the pilot pulls back on the flight stick. He returns the engines back in their vertical position and slowly lowers the throttle, hovering in the air.

**13:30**

**City of Vale**

"This is your stop, kid." He tells me, turning his head towards my direction.

Nodding swiftly, I wait as he lowers the Bullhead to a designated landing zone, hovering a few meters above the ground to allow for a quick exfil. Removing my hand from the strap, I grasp the handle to open the door. Twisting it 90 degrees, I open it, a wave of hot air hitting my face. I squint at the sudden increase in volume.

Looking down and judging the distance, I leap off and land on my feet, crouching to absorb the impact. My Aura flashes to let me know it's been damaged a bit. The Bullhead pulls away from the drop zone, and I let go of a breath as the area around me grows quiet. Looking at my Scroll, I note the time. I plan to spend the rest of the day just looking around. Back on Earth, I made the mistake of never venturing out of my neighborhood, and actually seeing the sights. On Remnant, this is the perfect opportunity to know my surroundings... and actually have a life.

But first... the bookstore.

The lot filled with empty Bullheads and other aircraft has me antsy, so I begin walking as fast as I can to reach the inner parts of the city. Stopping at an intersection, I bask in the steady commotion of shuffling feet and Dust powered vehicles. Every once in a while, a Bullhead will break the ambience, the low whistle announcing its presence, and a quick shadow covering the sun. The pedestrians busily cross the streets, uncaring of anything other than themselves. It's a busy day today.

Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I roam the city. I take my time putting one foot in front of the other, ignoring the annoyed glances I receive from impatient passerbys. Walking around downtown is a bit unnerving and stifling, but I steel myself, turning on an intersection to a less busy street. The noise immediately dies down as the buildings behind me muffle it, though the incessant honking of cars still fills the air.

Continuing my pace, I examine the stores lining the sidewalk. With a small breath, I stand in front of a shop I'm interested in. Lifting my head, I read the label.

_Tukson's... Book Trade. That name sounds oddly familiar..._

**13:35**

Pulling my hand out of my pocket, I pull the door open to the bookstore and enter the brightly lit room. A light jingling announces my entrance, and I quietly shut the door behind me as I scan the room.

Rows and rows of shelves line the walls, as well as separate aisles sparsely placed an equal distance apart. Books are neatly organized, spines facing outside, and are grouped by fiction and nonfiction, then subdivided even further by the author's name. It's arranged similar to a library, but the aisles aren't tall enough to hide behind.

"Hey there, welcome to Tukson's Book Trade!" I snap my head towards the voice at the end of the large room. An older man stands at a counter, smiling broadly. He's a well built man, hairy arms and all. His black sideburns reach all the way down to his chin, and are well trimmed.

"How may I help you?" He continues.

"Do you... sell journals here?" I ask, my voice low.

The man, Tukson, probably, nods swiftly. "Of course, they're right over there." He points to a small section, where stationery is sold.

Mumbling my thanks, I shuffle my way towards that end of the room, and have a look around. A small shelf is teeming with empty journals, separated by color. Picking out a blue journal, I open it, the new book smell filling my nostrils. Closing it with a snap of my hand, I'm about to take it to the counter, when I see a familiar face...

"Blake?" My mouth opens before my brain catches up.

The girl freezes in her spot, a book in her hand. Slowly turning her head, her eyes are wide and her face is pale. With shaking eyes, she slowly sticks the book back onto its spot on the shelf. As I tilt my head in confusion, Blake tenses up again, like I'm a dinosaur who can only see her if she moves.

"Are you uh... Are you okay?"

Blake nods, her face blurring into an unrecognizable mess.

Observing her, I quickly read the spines of the books on the shelf. I grin, turning away to chuckle briefly.

_Ninjas of Love... Blake, you're not exactly subtle._

Blake notices my expression, and her face burns bright as she desperately tries to sneak away. She suddenly hisses as I shift a foot forward. I hold my hands out in surrender.

"Hey, look. I'm not judging you or anything." I fall silent, afraid of setting her off.

"I can buy it for you if you'd like-" I slap a hand over my mouth.

_What the hell? Why did I just say that?_

Blake blushes again, and I match her redness, turning away as my ears burn from embarrassment. Coughing into my gloved fist, I debate with myself for a few moments before shaking my head.

"I'm... I'm serious about that offer." Coughing again, I scratch my cheek. "I'll pay for your book. I was gonna buy something anyway." I raise the journal I plan on purchasing, shaking it slightly.

Blake's dignity is shattered, stepped on and ground up into little pieces. She mumbles a small excuse, but still takes the book, _Ninjas of Love_, back from the shelf, and clutches it to her chest. Standing out of the way, I stare at her back before following in her footsteps, approaching the counter.

The man notices us, and smiles. "Ah, Blake, didn't see you enter!"

"...Hello, Tukson." Blake greets, her voice a small whisper. Her face is still pink from being revealed as a closet pervert, not that I didn't already know.

_Ah, so his name really is __Tukson!_

_And it seems they know each other too... Gah! His name is so freakin' familiar, but I just can't seem to remember what happened! My mind's already going blank!_

Blake timidly places the book on the counter, blushing madly. I slam the journal onto the top of the book, hiding the cover, and causing Tukson and Blake to jump a bit.

"I'll be paying for that." I quickly say.

"O... kay..." Tukson awkwardly replies, and rings up the register, scanning the barcode on the books. My eyes widen as I note how much the total costs.

"That'll be 2800 lien."

_Fuuuuck. Why did I do this again?_

Throwing my head back in agony, I groan. Slowly taking out my wallet, I part with 3 one thousand lien bills, and Tukson hands me back 2 one hundred lien bills as change. With a lighter wallet, I whimper as I pat it sympathetically, thinking soothing words as I slip the wallet back into its pocket.

"Thanks for shopping here, hope to see you again!" Tukson says jovially.

Blake turns red, hiding her eyes behind the fringe of her hair. She snatches her newly purchased book away from the counter and immediately turns to run away to the door. Taking my journal, I thank Tukson before running after Blake, the door jingling behind me.

"Hey, Blake, wait!" I yell out, a bit winded.

_Really... not looking forward... to Nora's training..._

Blake starts running away, using her Semblance to vault over a fence, sneaking into an alleyway.

_Oh, that's just _not _fair._

Giving myself a running start, I kick off of the fence and grab at the top, slowly pulling myself over. Throwing my legs over the edge, I let go and fall to the ground. Listening closely, I hear quiet footsteps from my left, and I turn the corner to see a silhouette disappearing behind another wall. Shaking my head, I sprint to the end of the street, rounding the corner with a small slide as I stumble to keep my balance.

Blake expertly kicks off of a wall and vaults over another fence back onto the street. Having enough, I call upon my Semblance, aiming ahead of Blake. Taking care not to hit her, I throw my sword, which embeds itself onto the floor. Quickly, I warp to it, breathless, and causing Blake to stop in her tracks.

Letting go of my blade, I rest my hands on my knees. I breathe heavily, my Semblance causing my Aura to drop dramatically. My sword flashes and explodes into shards of glass, disappearing like it was never there. It still leaves a large gash in the sidewalk. Oops.

"Ha... ha... Damn, Blake, you're fast." I try to lighten the mood. Standing up straight, I breathe out a sigh, puffing my cheeks out.

"Why are you following me?" Blake glares accusingly.

"Why did you run?" I fire back, standing up to my full height.

"..."

"Look..." I sigh. "I just want to talk. Catch... up...? Or something like that." I rub my neck. Blake continues her glare before finally relenting, relaxing her shoulders.

"...Okay."

My eyebrow twitches. _One word responses... Throw me a bone here, kitty._

"So..." I begin. The two of us just start walking in a random direction, shoulder to shoulder as I try to think of something to talk about.

"How are you doing?"

Blake raises an eyebrow, glancing at me incredulously. "Why are you asking?"

I shrug nonchalantly. "I'm just curious, s'all."

Blake quiets and looks at the sidewalk, before deciding to answer my question. "I'm doing... well. But my team... not so much." Blake grips her arm.

My eyebrows furrow slightly. "Something wrong with the others?"

She nods slowly. "It's Weiss. And Ruby to some extent. They've been avoiding each other."

"That bad, huh...?" I comment with a mumble, slowing my pace to try to match Blake.

Blake nods again. "Weiss... she only speaks- no... interacts... with us out of necessity. Everything she does, she does outside of our dorm. She only returns late at night to sleep, after everyone has already gone to bed. When we wake up... she's already gone."

A bit of sympathy leaks out of her voice. Knowing that she's a faunus, Blake is surprisingly kind, considering who Weiss is.

_That's gonna change, sooner or later..._

"And Ruby. She's really been hit hard by it." Blake stops walking, as we wait at an intersection.

Clenching my fist, I start sweating.

_It's been a week already... and they're still at this? In the show, it got resolved within a single episode!_

My eyes widen at the implications.

_No... if this little thing has already been changed so drastically, who knows what else is different...?_

"Noctis? Are you alright?" Blake's voice pulls me out of my head, and I rub my glove nervously.

"I'm fine." I respond too quickly, not convincing her at all.

As the light for the crosswalk turns green, I note that we are the only ones to cross the street. The street itself is quiet, no footsteps, no cars, no pedestrians, nothing. It's strange. Suddenly we hear a small shout of despair. I have to strain my ears to even hear it.

"Ah! No! Stop it!"

Blake immediately rushes off towards the voice, despite my protests.

"Blake, no!"

Cursing to myself, I chase after Blake, who has her hand on the hilt of _Gambol Shroud._ Without the weight of a sword to slow me down, I slowly catch up to Blake and grab her by the forearm. Growling, she tries to pull away.

"Let go of me!" Blake hisses, a dangerous look in her eyes.

"No, don't you dare go rushing in like that! It might get you killed!" I whisper-yell at her.

"I'm a huntress!" She replies angrily, her face turning red.

"Grr, you know what I mean!" I tighten my hold on her.

Struggling against my grasp, Blake almost breaks free, but I stop her as I hear a noise, covering her mouth with my hand. Taking her by the arm, I rush into an alleyway, pushing her against a wall. Loud footsteps echo from within the building next to the alleyway. A warehouse, maybe. The metal door creaks open, and a person pokes their head out.

"I heard some yelling outside. You see anything?" A metallic voice rings out from within the room.

"Nah, must've been some rowdy kids. They're gone by now." The door creaks as if ready to close, but the voice inside continues.

"Oi, keep watch by the door. We don't want to be compromised, now, do we?"

"Heh. No, sir." With a light chuckle, the person at the door shuts it behind him, the ominous clanging echoing in my ears.

Swallowing, I look at Blake, who has to breathe through her nose. Blushing, I remove my hand from her mouth slowly, and she glares at me, squinting her eyes.

Quietly, I back away from her, holding my hands out in surrender again.

"Now, if you _really_ want to find out what's going on, it'd be best if they _don't _know that we're here." I whisper.

With a reluctant nod, Blake looks at me. "What now?"

Looking up, I spot a fire escape. With a small grin, I turn back to Blake. "Let's get a bird's eye view."

Blake reaches for the hilt of her blade before I stop her. Reminding her that we have to be stealthy with a finger to my lips, she lets go with a small grumble. Standing a bit below the ladder, I crouch down, lacing my fingers together to provide a foothold for Blake.

She steps back a bit before running at me. Stepping onto my hands, I grunt in effort as I pull up, giving Blake a jump in altitude. She grasps at the rungs of the ladder, a clang making my heart skip a beat.

Trying to hurry her along, Blake unsheathes _Gambol Shroud_ and slashes at the lock holding the ladder up. With a hand, I catch the ladder, and slowly lower it to the floor. With a quick breath, I begin climbing. Blake stands at the top, and I clamber up onto the metal catwalk. Placing a hand on the railing, I look up.

_Only two levels... Alright, then, up we go._

Blake and I quickly climb the flights of stairs, reaching the rooftop. Luckily, a large window spans the entire roof, allowing for an easy look into the warehouse. Sneaking to the edge, I'm grateful that the sun isn't shining in a way where our shadows would give away our position.

I scan the room, taking note of how many people there are inside. They're regular ol' bandits, or gangsters, I can't tell. They're sparsely laid out evenly throughout the warehouse, and there are about a dozen of them, give or take. This'll be difficult.

Our objective? I look around, my eyes finally seeing something. A young faunus woman is tied to a chair in an elevated room at the end of the warehouse, her mouth bound and gagged, probably as punishment for her outburst that brought us here. A few gashes line her cheeks, with blood pouring out. She was crying, evident by her puffy red eyes. No Aura. Civilian.

"What's the plan, Noctis?" Blake asks, glancing at me.

Staying silent, my eyes are glued onto the woman, who has a scared look on her face. A man then stands in front of her, blocking my view.

_I don't know, Blake... I don't know._

—o—

**A/N: Ohoho, things are getting serious now. Noctis is getting his first taste of stealth, and learning how to be a strategist.**

**Weiss is still having a bad time with her team, and it might escalate further.**

**I wanna see what you think. See you next chapter!**


	9. Yellow Death

Chapter 9: Yellow Death

—o—

**April 7**

**14:00**

**Occupied ****Warehouse**

Another beautiful day out in the city of Vale. The sun is shining, the birds chirping...

And now I have to deal with a hostage situation. Go me.

I've made a few circles around the rooftop, peering inside the warehouse and taking note of every single thug's movement. I even drew a layout in the first page of my newly purchased journal, drawing lines for every patrol. Predictable routines, as they don't ever deviate from their paths.

It's a good thing the man up in that room hasn't done anything yet. The woman is visibly frightened, and angles herself as far away from the man holding her hostage as possible. He hasn't killed her yet, thankfully. It seems he just wants something from her.

Blake is lying prone on the ground, crossing her arms and resting her chin on them. Her gaze is frozen on the man inside the room. Making my way to her, I pat her on the back, and she looks up.

"Noctis."

"Has anything changed?" I ask.

Blake shakes her head, looking back into the warehouse. "No. But if we take any longer, he may..." Blake pauses with a shaky breath. "He may kill her." She whispers, warning me.

Crouching down, I rest an arm on top of my knee. "Yeah, it looks like she's not cooperating. If he loses his patience..." I trail off with a sharp intake of air. I cough into my fist.

"There's a window that's loose." I point to where I'm referring. "We can infiltrate from there." I shift my arm to the end of the building. "Then, we'll make our way towards the back of the warehouse."

Blake nods her approval and gets up into a crouch.

"Let's just avoid the people inside for now. Their patrols overlap, so the others will notice if we take them out."

Blake nods again.

With a deep breath to calm my beating heart, I sneak towards the window, Blake shadowing me. At the window, I slowly slip my fingers underneath the glass, pulling upward, a slight creak causing me to grit my teeth in frustration. I gently pry open the window.

Opening it just wide enough for Blake to slip in, she waits for the patrol underneath to move before dropping down inside. Her heeled boots are inaudible as she hits the ground.

Sighing, I dangle my feet from the roof and turn around, holding my weight with my hands as I shakily lower myself. I wince in pain as the window crushes my fingertips, and I drop to the floor, generating a small thud. Freezing in place, I sneak to a box and crouch down behind it, my heart racing.

Blake hides in the shadows, expertly darting from cover to cover, and I have to slowly pick up the pieces, avoiding patrols and trying my darnedest to muffle my footsteps.

On one occasion, I almost blow my cover chasing after Blake, a patrol just turning the corner as I jump out of cover. Luckily, my all black attire camouflages me somewhat, and I rush behind a storage shelf hidden in shadows, covering my mouth to muffle my breathing.

_Shit! That was too close for comfort..._

The man patrolling mutters something about the wind, before turning around and completing his rotation. Peeking my head out of cover, I breathe a small sigh before moving in Blake's direction. Wincing with each step, I grow frustrated with how much noise I'm making, which just causes me to make more noise.

Blake seems to have disappeared entirely. She's probably already freed the hostage and left.

_Goddammit! Why did I even do this!?_

Running as quietly as possible, I push up against a pillar, inching closer to the edge to peek out. Another patrol passes in front of me, oblivious to my presence. Quickly pulling away, I adjust my footing, lowering my stance. Peeking out once more, the man's footsteps grow quiet as he leaves the area.

The air whispers in my ear as I tiptoe towards the back end of the warehouse, and I hold my hands out in a sort of sneaking maneuver. With a small pat on the back, I finally reach the room at the end of the warehouse. It's held up by a large metal supports, and metal stairs lead up to the door. I frown.

_Great. How loud can I get? _I grumble sarcastically.

I take a deep breath. Wrapping a hand around the railing, I slowly climb the stairs, looking behind me every few seconds in paranoia. With a loud gulp, I take long strides to minimize any sounds I make. In a few short, but excruciatingly slow, moments, I finally reach the door of the room.

_Don't wanna go through the front door... that'll be too obvious._

I look around for a foothold. I remember that the room has a small skylight. Placing a foot on the railing beside the doorway, I grab ahold of a piece of the wall jutting out. I climb towards the roof of the small room, looking down to check my footing after every movement.

_Come on... no telling what he's done to her..._

Grabbing hold at the top, I pull myself up with a grunt before I crawl to the skylight. Peering inward, my eyes widen as I watch the man inside brandish a combat knife, serrated near the hilt. He walks up to the woman slowly, in an act of intimidation. The woman shakes her head crazily, tears leaking out from her eyes and her makeup smeared. Her screaming is muffled by her cloth muzzle.

_Oh no you don't!_

I stand up and quickly kick at the window, shattering it. Jumping inside, I tackle the surprised man to the floor, my weight knocking the wind out of him. I punch him full force, my Aura unconsciously powering it up. His face explodes into a shower of blood, making me jump backwards.

My foot hits a small object, which I pick up. It's the man's knife. Time to reappropriate it.

"Urgh! You bitch!" The man exclaims, clutching his broken nose. Standing up, he staggers against the window, holding himself up with the sill. Placing myself between him and the woman, I summon my sword in my left hand. I put my left foot forward, and my sword in front of me. I use the knife as a sidearm, flipping it in a reverse grip.

As the adrenaline kicks in, I shuffle my feet into what I think will be an adequate fighting stance. The man groans in pain before unsheathing a large machete from his waist. My eyes widen at this revelation.

"You'll pay for that, huntsman!" The man slurs out.

Not responding, I try to calm myself for the upcoming fight.

**Adrenaline - Ace**

With a yell, the man charges straight at me. Gritting my teeth, I attempt to block the strike.

The machete clangs against my blade, forcing me backwards.

Surprisingly, his weapon is pushed back fairly easily, but this knocks the both of us off balance. Cursing myself for my clumsiness, I try to fight back, slashing at the man with my sword. He blocks it.

_Shit! I really need some training!_

Making sure my back is still facing the woman in the chair, I maneuver my weapon to block and parry each successive attack from my opponent. Growling in frustration, I slowly shift my feet backwards as the man inches forward.

Our blades lock, and I lean backwards at an awkward angle. Sweat dripping from my forehead, I use the knife in my offhand to slash at the man in the abdomen, who flinches and yells out in pain.

Without enough leverage to power through, I have to break off, and I watch as the man bleeds on the floor. A crazed look is in his eyes. Tightening up my stance, I back away slightly, not sure how to react. Taking another quick glance behind me, the woman is stock still, frozen in her seat.

Making the mistake of looking away, my eyes widen as the man attacks me. I lift up my sword to block his overhead attack, but without the grip of two hands, his machete bounces against my blade, disarming me, my sword flying from my hand and exploding into dust. His weapon cuts into my Aura, the spot flashing red from the strain. Small crystals bud off from the wound, disappearing into the air.

With a grunt of dull pain, I grip his weapon with an Aura shielded hand, a fierce grin on my face. Pulling it away from my body, I push forward, gaining a small advantage.

He kicks me in the nuts.

_Motherf-_

Suddenly short of breath, I release my hold on the man's machete, as well as my knife, clutching my pearls and falling onto my knees. Seeing double, I fall flat on my back, hitting my head against the floor.

Trying to get back up, the man slams his foot onto my stomach, forcing the wind out of my lungs. Timing it perfectly, he forms a stranglehold on my neck with his hands. I struggle against the grasp, but with no air in my lungs, and my consciousness slowly fading away, I do no more than slapping at the wind.

Weakly smacking at the man's arms, his laughter fills my ears. My vision fades, a ring of black engulfing it. The mad look on the man's face is the last thing I see as I fade into unconsciousness.

...

The window crashes. A whip-like sound snaps in the air. The pressure disappears from my neck, and my vision clears up immediately. The man's screams fill the air and stop suddenly as a fleshy impact sound interrupts it. A quiet thud rumbles the floor underneath me, while the sound of metal slides across metal.

Gasping for breath, I clutch my neck and sit up from the floor. I cough up spittle, slapping a hand against my chest. Letting my vision refocus, I see Blake making her way over to the hostage.

Trying but failing to stand on my own two feet, I place a hand on the table where I took the bottle from. With shaking legs, I make my way towards the back of the room. Blake is busy cutting the woman free from the chair with _Gambol Shroud_, resheathing it onto her back when the binds have been cut.

"Th-Thank you..." The woman mumbles out, stumbling out of her seat. Her mouth is red and dry from the gag, and her eyes are puffy. A large gash mars her cheek, and a trail of dried blood forms a line down to her chin.

"We need-" I stumble forward, pushing off of the table. I clutch my neck and rub my stomach to relieve some pain. "We need to get her out of here."

Blake gives me a look and helps the woman stand. "They know we're here, now. I don't think we can leave without fighting our way out."

"I can just warp all of us out of here." I remember.

"No. We're not leaving until I get some answers." Blake has a furious look in her eyes, the amber almost burning hot.

"Shit..." I grumble at that before peeking out of the window. The man I fought is unconscious on the floor below the building. Glass shards surround him, and a bit of blood pools from his head. I grimace slightly.

A loud slamming shakes the ground, coming from the door. Loud shouting can be heard from behind the door.

"Crap. Blake, can you hold them off?" I gently grab the woman by the shoulder, moving her closer towards the window.

She nods swiftly. "Yeah, just get her out of here first." Blake unsheathes _Gambol Shroud_, splitting it into two, holding the metal sheath with a reverse grip.

Summoning my sword, the loud explosion causes the woman to jump in surprise. Gesturing for her to hold onto me, I lick my lips in anticipation.

_Here goes..._

With a deep breath, I lift the sword up and throw it. The blade smashes against the rooftop windows, destroying them and causing the panes of glass to fall to the warehouse floor. Blinking, the connection between me and my weapon form as I feel the sword embed itself into the roof. Clenching my empty hand, I force my Aura to do my bidding. A blue glow surrounds the two of us, and crystals manifest themselves, floating in the air.

With an electric feeling, my eyes widen as I gasp, and we disappear in a cloud of crystals. A cold pain washes across my body as we warp. It takes longer than usual, and I grit my teeth as the pain grows exponentially. Jumping back into reality, I fall onto the floor of the roof.

"Are you alright, sir?" The woman helps me up from my knees.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." I say breathlessly. I fish for my Scroll, opening up the Aura monitor. 62 percent.

_Getting better at this Aura thing... But it's still too low for comfort._

"Just stay put here." I say. "I'll come back for you later. Don't let anyone see you."

The woman nods her head quickly, hiding herself behind an HVAC unit. She sits down against the metal, bringing her legs up to her chest.

Right when I'm about to warp back to Blake, the woman speaks up. "Thank you..."

I freeze in place. "...It's fine, miss." I say quickly.

Without waiting for a response, I take a running start and throw my sword, warping in the air. In free fall, I use my momentum to fly through the window of the building. Positioning my feet, I kick at someone, forcing them into the air. Planting my feet onto the floor, I grin at Blake, who was fighting some of the thugs, and now just staring at me with an open mouth. The room is entirely silent, save for the groans of the man I just kicked.

Everything grows loud in an instant, and the room devolves into chaos. Sensing danger, I duck underneath a swipe of someone's weapon.

Using my hands to scramble away, I race towards Blake, who defends against an attack with her weapon. Turning around, we bump our backs against each other. Blake flourishes _Gambol Shroud_, the ribbon flapping in the air. Summoning my sword in response, the room flashes in blue as it explodes into reality. Gripping my weapon with two hands, I assume a basic stance.

_Goddammit Blake, if only you weren't so stubborn we could be home free by now._

"Come on."

I can feel Blake's muscles tense into a tiny nod before she jumps into action. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I look at my opponents.

_Three on one..._

With a week's training with Pyrrha, I still don't feel confident in my fighting ability. In that time frame, I've never landed a single hit on her, let alone touched her Aura. Even switching up sessions with Nora and Ren, I've only ever dropped them to 80 percent before I get KO'ed.

_But these people aren't huntsmen... they don't have an Aura, so I have a bit of an advantage... I hope._

I watch the three men carefully, eyeing their respective weapons. One holds a spear, another a mace, and the last one, a revolver.

As I try to come up with a plan, the man with the mace rushes me, forcing me into a defensive posture.

Bringing up my sword, I cut at an opposite angle, his weapon smashing into the metal of my blade with a loud clang. Using this momentum, I desummon my sword and perform a spinning hook kick to the torso, forcing him into a table and knocking him off his feet. The man with the spear comes at me next, sweeping me off my feet with his polearm. Flailing in the air, I shield my head with my shoulders, rolling to the side.

With clumsy footing, I hit my shoulder against the wooden floor, which knocks the wind out of me. Disoriented, I gasp as the metal point of the spear almost pierces the Aura surrounding my neck. Reflexively, I grab at the pole, pumping Aura through my arms to push the weapon back.

Blake sees me in danger, and quickly jumps into action. Throwing her sword, it transforms in midair to its pistol form, wrapping itself around the man's arm. Pulling the string taut, Blake pulls the man towards her, or rather, her towards him, and she quickly knocks him out with a flying kick to the head.

She gives me a disappointed look. "I won't always be there to help you. Get up." After that passing comment, she blocks an attack from another assailant with a hand, whipping _Gambol Shroud_'s string over her head andaround her target with another pull of the string. Twisting her wrist, she smacks the blunt edge of the handle against his head, knocking him out as well.

Even with that stinging remark, I can't help but admire her fighting. Her movements feel like a choreographed dance, reminiscent of Monty's animation in the beginning volumes of RWBY, but even more fast paced, since, well, this is a living, breathing world.

A loud bang brings me back to reality, and instinctively, I roll to the side. The crack of a bullet showers wood splinters onto my body, and I look left to see a large smoking hole in the floor. My breathing is stilted, and my heart begins to race.

_What the hell was that!? Did I... Did I just dodge a bullet?_

Looking to the source, a smoking revolver hides the frustrated growl of the man who shot at me.

"This time, I won't miss." He threatens, confirming my suspicion that he was shooting to kill.

_How the hell did I do that? Bullets can't just be dodged..._

I am shaken out of my thoughts as I hear the cocking of the hammer. Summoning my sword, I throw it at the man, who immediately steps out of the way. He looks behind him, and begins to laugh.

"You missed."

"Yeah... I guess I did. But now... I can do this." I phase out of existence in an explosion of light, blinding the man and causing him to start panicking.

"What the-!? Where the hell did that little shit go!?"

"Right here..." I mutter to myself, where he couldn't hear me.

In an instantaneous warp to my sword, I grip the handle, the blade implanted into the metal wall. And also, wow, this sword is sharp. Swinging my weight, I push off of the wall with my feet and let go. Falling, I point my feet towards the man, and the impact of my boots into his flesh makes me flinch. Feeling a light crack from the base of my feet, I cringe as the man flies away towards the end of the room, rolling to a stop.

I fall on my ass, regretting it immediately as I get hounded by another thug. The man with the mace has already recovered, and swings his weapon at me, forcing me to roll out of the way. His mace becomes lodged into the floor.

I get up, intending on ending this encounter with a fist fight. The man lets go of the mace, deeming it a lost cause, bringing his fists up to his face in a standard boxing stance.

Even though I have little to no experience in martial arts, I try to prepare myself. Shifting a foot backward, I bring my hands out loosely in an imitation of a CQC stance lifted straight from Metal Gear Solid.

I take a deep breath.

The man rushes me with a jab to my face. I dodge to the left, and use my free arm to grab him and push him away from me. He stumbles for a bit and turns around to face me once again.

A drop of sweat forms on my forehead as I watch him carefully.

He comes at me again, this time with a right hook. Not sure what to do, I bring my arms together in an X, intent on blocking the punch. Instead of following through, the man smirks and switches up his attack.

_No! A feint!?_

With no time to move my arms, the man hits me with an uppercut to the gut, making spittle fly from my mouth. Gasping in agony, I get hit by another punch, this time to the face. Even though my Aura is doing its best to protect me, I can still feel the full force behind the blow.

Spinning in the air, I drop to the floor in a heap. I try getting up, but the man just kicks me in the stomach, making me lose my breath and causing my arms to slip.

And of course, Blake comes along to save the day. Before the man can do any more damage, he is hit by the blunt edge of _Gambol Shroud_ to the temple, knocking him out in one hit. In an anticlimactic fashion, he is defeated.

**END**

Blake gives me yet another disappointed look before debating with herself to help me up. She decides to do so, extending a hand for me to grab onto.

Flipping over onto my back, I clasp my hand into hers and stand up with difficulty. I clutch my stomach and caress my cheek, still feeling the sting of the punches. I really need some unarmed training.

She then flips her sword back around so the sharp edge pointed away from her, and effortlessly places _Gambol Shroud_ onto her back, the electromagnet re-engaging. She rubs her wrist, spinning it to relieve some tension.

"Fourth time I saved you, now." She remarks, casually examining her nails.

"Yeah, yeah. What d'ya want, a sandwich?" I snark back, still clearly butthurt about getting my ass handed to me back there.

"You said it, not me, Noctis." She gives me a smile that just screams smugness.

I grit my teeth in annoyance. "Whatever. Let's get out of here."

"Not yet, remember?"

"Fuck... don't remind me. Just... get one of them to talk. I'll be going." I didn't want to stay to see what Blake would come up with to get what she wanted.

Clutching my Scroll, I check my Aura. 1 percent... damn I got lucky. Now, if I just don't trip on a rock, I'll be just fine-

**BANG!**

_Wh-What...?_

Stumbling in place, my Aura flickers before shattering completely, with an audible cue. Blake and I freeze in place, not sure what just happened. With a shaking jaw, I turn my head to the right, my eyes falling onto a man with trembling hands. The spear user, I recall. He holds a revolver, his finger on the trigger.

Before he can fire another shot, Blake transforms _Gambol Shroud_ to its pistol form before unhesitantly firing a round into his hand. He lets out a bloodcurdling scream before falling unconscious from the shock, his head hitting the floor.

_Why... does it hurt to breathe?_

Blood spurts from my mouth as a familiar pain sprouts from within my chest.

_N-No! Not again... I can't die like this again...!_

"Shit!" Blake curses, something which would surprise me if I wasn't currently suffering from yet another bullet wound. She drops her weapon to the floor and runs to my side. With weak knees, I fall against a wall, dropping down to a sitting position. A river of blood falls from my chin.

I guess my Aura was too weak to stop it. The pain was unbearable, unlike before. Probably because I'm not dying from it, but still. I don't have a collapsed lung, which is good, I think, but something is pressing up against it, and I have to take shallow breaths.

Blake looks me over, pushing my jacket out of the way. My navy blue shirt is stained red from my blood, and a small hole is punctured into it. Blake peels me off the wall, feeling my back and looking for something.

"There's no exit wound..." Blake bites her lip and curses quietly. She gently places me back against the wall.

Blake then lifts up my shirt, something I would have commented on if not for the debilitating pain. As she looks at my skin, she is careful not to touch the wound itself, peering into the bubbling mess. She spots a glint from a reflective surface.

"Lucky... Your Aura absorbed most of the kinetic energy... but the bullet still had enough speed to puncture skin." She pulls out a small first aid kit from her person.

"Can you get it out?" I groan, my eyelids fluttering.

"Noctis, I'm a medic, not a surgeon." She deadpans, before resuming unpacking her kit.

My eyes open. That's news to me. "When-"

Blake shushes me, pulling me away from the wall. "I had some prior medical training, so I became the designated medic for my team." She explains, before falling silent once more. She continues setting me up to bandage my wound, but I try to stop her, grabbing at her arm.

"Blake... just pull the bullet out of me and be done with it." I demand quietly, trying to control my breathing.

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Blake berates me while she cleans up most of the blood. "That's a job for a professional, not a field medic."

With a quick movement, I grip Blake's hand and stare into her eyes with a hard expression. "I'm not going to the hospital... Not now, not ever."

"I trust you with my life... I don't care if I have to sign a liability contract or something in the event of my death... just take that piece of metal out of my body... please." I plead to her.

With every breath, my vision becomes more and more blurred, and my skin grows colder to the touch.

I pass out.

—o—

"Noctis...!? Noctis, wake up!" I shake his shoulder, to no effect. His head lolls back and forth before falling forward, his hair covering his eyes.

_He passed out..._

Letting go of him, I relax my body, falling into a kneeling position. I bite my lip, not sure what to do.

_Should I...? Should I take out the bullet? It's... it's only surface level deep. I can even see it from here. I can... I can probably take it out._

_But what if he dies?_ This nagging feeling is ever present as I unpack my tools for an on site procedure.

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I move Noctis's unconscious body to a flat surface, laying him out for easier access to the wound.

Looking at his face, his eyes are covered by his bangs, which I brush out of the way with a hand. His forehead is cold to touch, and his skin much paler than usual.

Moving quickly, I kneel perpendicular to Noctis's body, next to his chest area. I take off his shirt completely, leaving him bare chested. The wound had already stopped bleeding, but now I'll have to reopen it to take out the bullet.

First, I tie back my hair with a hair tie, to prevent it from obscuring my vision. I put on a face mask to prevent my breath from contaminating the wound and infecting it. Then, I put on a clean pair of sterile gloves, setting down a small metal pan next to my patient's body.

Using a small piece of cotton, I dip it into an alcohol solution, cleaning the area around the wound. I'm careful to not let any of it enter the wound itself.

As I ready my scalpel, disinfecting it, I can only think about the consequences of failing. I pause as the blade hovers over his skin.

_I... can just leave the bullet in him. And he won't ever know unless he goes to a hospital. But if I do... I'll be betraying his trust._

Clutching the instrument with a death grip, I almost snap it in two, my Aura unconsciously enhancing my strength.

Performing a breathing exercise, I lick my dry lips, wiping away a cold sweat. Calming my nerves, I move the scalpel closer to Noctis's skin.

I cut.

My heart rate immediately spikes, and my breathing becomes audible as I cut a cross shape into the wound, allowing for the bullet to be taken out.

I glance at Noctis's face, watching as he furrows his eyebrows and groans. He mumbles something.

"Don't... wanna die like this... again..."

My eyes widen. _What? What does he mean by again? You can't die twice..._

Dismissing his statement as blood loss induced gibberish, I continue with the operation.

I grab a pair of forceps to pry open the skin, making a hole large enough for the bullet to exit.

"Blood..." I mutter softly. I dab away at the spurting wound with an absorbent cloth before gripping the metal with the forceps. With a slight grunt, I pull quickly, the bullet uncorking a fountain of blood. Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I use the cloth to soak up most of the blood, before grabbing a portable cauterizer powered by Dust.

With a quick heat of the metal end, it glows red hot as I press it against the bleeding capillaries, forcing them shut with manufactured blisters. Flinching from the smell of burning flesh, I pause, watching for any more blood.

After a few seconds, I sigh audibly, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I place two fingers against Noctis's neck, checking his pulse. Slightly faint, but still there. He's alive. He's okay.

With the forceps still in my hand, I examine the bullet closely. It doesn't even resemble a bullet anymore, expanding into an unusual disc shape, normal for any hollow point ammunition.

Shaking my head slowly, I bag the bullet and all the soiled tools into a small plastic bags, to be cleaned later. No evidence to remain at the scene.

"Now I'll have to bandage the wound..." I speak softly to myself, taking out a roll of clean white gauze.

The wound is brownish black from the cauterization, and the skin around it is red from inflammation. A small pool of dried blood is wiped away with another dose of an alcohol soaked cloth. I begin wrapping the gauze all around Noctis's body, making sure the fabric is tight enough to be in direct contact with the wound. Using up the entire roll, I tape it down with an adhesive.

Pulling away, I sigh shakily. Noctis is fine. The operation is complete. I probably violated a litany of laws doing this, but I don't care anymore.

Noctis's breathing is stable, his heartbeat normal, and some color has returned to his skin. A tiny red stain is visible in the gauze, but the dressing is otherwise clean.

My ears prick up as I hear someone behind me.

"Die, you bitch!"

Sighing quietly, I turn around and catch the man in the face with a punch, knocking him out in one hit. He falls to the floor in one swift motion, twitching uncontrollably. I stand up, ripping away the face mask and unfurling my hair to its full length.

The man groans, about to sit back up. I place my foot onto his chest, pinning him down and causing him to lose his breath. Lowering my torso, I move closer to the man's face, in an attempt to intimidate him.

The weight of my heeled boot digs into his ribs, and he cries out in pain. I grimace from this, but I need information.

"Why did you kidnap her?" I say with a neutral tone.

"Urgh! I'm not... telling you shit!" The man struggles underneath me.

"Talk! Or you're not walking out of here alive." I threaten him. This is a bluff, of course, but I still hesitate from my cruel tone of voice.

The man begins cursing me out vehemently, struggling harder. He grabs at my leg, which I rebuff by grabbing his collar and punching him in the nose, drawing some blood.

He immediately lets go, and begins pleading with me to stop, raising his hands in surrender. "O-O-Okay! I'll talk, I'll talk! I'll tell you anything, just please don't hurt me!"

"Good choice." I say, my voice lowering to a deadpan.

—o—

**17:39**

"Ugh..."

My eyelids feel like anchors as I try to wake up. Pushing myself up, a sharp pain in my chest causes me to yelp. I push a hand against my chest, feeling a fibrous material. Looking down, a continuous wrap of gauze covers my chest area, and a soft red stain is present. My shirt and jacket are nowhere to be seen on my body. Touching the gauze, I wince as it responds with a dull stab of pain.

"Don't touch it, Noctis. Let your Aura heal the wound."

I sigh quietly, not bothering to turn and acknowledge Blake. Sitting up, I note that I'm on a soft bed, in what seems to be an apartment. A closed curtain allows for warm lighting to pass through.

"Where... are we?" I ask Blake with a bit of difficulty.

I hear the sounds of keys being pressed, before they slow down to a stop. "That woman we helped... she let us stay at her home."

Lifting up my head, a sudden yawn makes it way to my mouth. Stretching my arms out, the pain in my chest flares up again, causing me to flinch again.

"Getting shot... is not fun." I complain, throwing my legs over the edge of the bed. I do my best to not disturb the wound, keeping my shoulder at a stiff angle.

Taking my Scroll from my pocket, I check my Aura.

_100 percent... How long was I out?_

"Three hours."

I blink, my eyes watching Blake from afar. She's typing on a laptop, seated in a small chair in the corner of the room. The clack of keys fills the small room, and she doesn't move her eyes from the screen.

"You were out for three hours." She repeats.

I am about to say something again, but she speaks up before I can put a word in. "Don't worry. I saw that look on your face."

My eyes twitch. _You weren't even looking this way..._

She has a small smile on her face before it vanishes completely, her expression back to a neutral scowl. Wow, now that I really look at her, her resting facial expression really makes her look unapproachable, like she'll tell you off if you speak to her. In reality, all she'll do is glare at you until you go away. But I digress.

I push myself back up to a sitting position, and stand up from the bed, the mattress decompressing from my weight.

I grasp at my head in disbelief. _Three hours... I can't believe I was out for that long..._

Walking to the curtain, I pull it wide open, my breath suddenly leaving my lungs.

The view... is breathtaking. The building we're in is a bit taller than the others surrounding it, and this allows me to see over the rooftops and towards the horizon. The large wall separating Vale from the Frontier is visible on the outskirts of the city, past grassy plains and small houses. The low rumble of passing Bullheads rocks the floor somewhat before dissipating.

I pull the curtains back, shrouding the room back in subdued sunlight. Blake quietly shuts the lid on her laptop, leaning into her chair with a sigh.

"So... what's up? What's with the laptop?" I ask her, sitting back down on the bed.

"I was trying to find out who was behind the kidnapping." She huffs a breath and looks away, balancing her chin on a hand. "There's nothing on the internet, but I did get a name, at least. They call themselves the Black Hand."

I blink. "That doesn't sound menacing at all..." I grumble sarcastically, stretching my stiff shoulder, still wincing in pain.

"Any idea why they did it?"

Blake frowns slightly, her eyebrows furrowing. "It has something to do with the White Fang."

I stop, staring at nothing as I think. _Hm. Didn't expect to hear that name for a while._

"You know something?" Blake asks, eyeing my expression.

Coughing into my fist, I bring my face back to a blank expression. "No, I probably know as much as you do."

She squints a bit, her bow twitching ever so slightly. "Oh?"

"And by that, I mean nothing." I say, betraying nothing about my memories. This also means that Blake can't call me out on anything, or she'll reveal her affiliation to the White Fang, and her status as a faunus.

Of course, Blake doesn't push any more, falling silent.

"Is Roman Torchwick involved?" I ask, pushing the conversation forward.

"Not that I know of. He mostly works alone, and if he does need help, it's hired. That's why he still hasn't been caught." Blake informs me.

"Then what do we do?"

"There really isn't much we _can_ do. Until they do something again, we're in the dark." Blake says, a bit displeased at the fact.

Sitting in silence, I twiddle my thumbs before Blake suddenly speaks.

"Whoever's behind the door, come out. We know you're there."

My head shoots up towards the end of the room, and back to Blake. How the hell did she know? Oh, that's right. Faunus have better hearing than humans...

A quiet yelp answers her, and a head of blond hair trips his way into the room. Being caught red handed, he accidentally drops his weight onto the door, falling down and hitting his nose on the ground.

_Uh... is that who I think it is?_

"You, uh... you alright there?" I ask, a bit concerned, getting up from the bed and helping him up.

"Yeah. Yep. Totally, ugh, totally fine. I don't have a broken nose or anything." The teen lifts his head up, massaging his sore nose, a small nasally tone in his voice.

_It's... It's Jaune. I can't believe it. What is he doing here?_

"How much of that did you hear?" Blake barks out, crossing her arms and getting up in an intimidating stance.

"I-I, uhh... I didn't hear... anything?" Jaune stutters out, clearly afraid.

"Is that a question or an answer?" Blake walks toward Jaune, pulling him towards her by the hood of his black Pumpkin Pete sweater.

"Blake!" I yell out her name and try to get between the two of them.

"I won't tell anyone _anything_, I swear!" Jaune raises his hands in surrender and closes his eyes, whimpering.

"How will I know that? You were eavesdropping and-"

"BLAKE, THAT'S ENOUGH!" I raise my voice higher this time, silencing the two of them. Blake's jaw audibly snaps closed. Jaune's whimpering devolves into small sniffles and a bit of shaking.

Standing in front of Jaune, I stare down Blake, who has the decency to back off and lower her head in shame. I can't blame her for this, though, considering her past.

"We can trust him." I tell her.

"...How do you know that?" Blake answers after a brief respite, in a quiet tone.

Looking behind me, I glance at Jaune, who waves at me with a nervous chuckle.

"He's a... He's a friend. I know him." I lie to Blake, causing me to wince inside. Immediately turning around, I glare at Jaune to force him to remain silent.

Blake looks at me for a few seconds before giving up. Looking away, she mumbles a bit before sitting back down on her chair.

I sigh. Palming my face, I grab Jaune by the shoulder and usher him out of the room. I gently close the bedroom door and face the blond teen.

"Well, if you have anything to say, say it now." I slump against the door, clearly tired from that ordeal.

"...Why did you defend me?"

A brief chuckle escapes my lips. Obvious question. "It really wasn't anything personal. I promise she isn't always like that. Something's eating at her... probably. So don't hold anything against her." I cross my arms, shivering a bit from the chill entering from the open window at the end of the corridor.

"W-Well..." Jaune extends an arm intending for a handshake. He smiles confidently. "My name's Jaune Arc. It's short, sweet, and the ladies love it!"

My lips twitch into a small smile. "Do they really?"

Jaune quickly backs down, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. "N-No, not really... It's... just a saying my... dad used to tell me." His mentioning of his dad darkens the mood somewhat.

"Trouble at home?" I ask, a bit curious.

"Oh, no, it's not what you're thinking, it's just..." He takes a deep breath. "It's a long story."

"Don't worry, I have all the time in the world right now. Oh, and by the way..."

"My name's Noctis Fleuret, or just Noct for short. It's nice to meet you, Jaune." I extend my hand for a handshake, which Jaune reciprocates.

"Cool name you have there." He comments.

"Hm. I guess so. Want to take this conversation somewhere else?" I nudge my head in a 'let's get out of here' gesture.

"Yeah, that'll be great. You can meet my boss, too. Dinner's starting soon." He begins, walking down the hallway, with me trailing not far behind him, my hands in my pockets.

"Dinner? Jaune, it's fine, we can just-"

He interrupts me with a smile. "Look man, just think of it as our thanks. You saved my boss's life, the least we can do is feed ya."

"I mean..." I trail off, only half heartedly declining his invitation. What? I'm hungry, and I'm not gonna pass up on free food.

"Alright then." I agree. We fall silent, with Jaune quickly leading us into the living room, and by extension the dining room.

Walking out of the corridor, I am hit by a warm yellow light from the ceiling. The room in front of me is small and homely, the right size for an apartment. To my left, a balcony window that could open and let you stand outside. To my right, a door leading out of the apartment. A small kitchen is seated next to the doorway, and a counter separates it from the rest of the room. A table with five chairs surrounding is pushed against that counter,

I look a bit to my left, seeing the woman Blake and I helped out, sitting on a couch, sewing up what seems to be my shirt. Her head is bandaged, and one side of her face is wrapped in gauze. A small red handkerchief hides her faunus traits.

She looks up to see Jaune and me. "Oh! Jaune! And..."

"His name's Noctis Fleuret. Noct, meet Desiree Aquila. She's my boss's wife!" Jaune jumps to my rescue, moving out of the way to show me to her.

"Um... hello." I say dumbly, lifting a hand up as a greeting.

"It's nice to meet you properly, Noctis. I'd like to thank you for saving my life." She smiles before going back to sewing. "Your shirt will be done in a few minutes. Why don't you sit down? I'll get dinner ready as well."

I mumble acknowledgement to myself before taking a seat at the dining table, with Jaune sitting across from me.

As we make ourselves comfortable, the teen speaks up.

"Sorry about your injury."

That's right... My injury. Looking down, I place a hand on the white gauze, rubbing at the dried blood spot. Stretching my shoulder again, the pain is almost gone; the only thing remaining is the pressure of the bandaging against my skin. My Aura's doing a good job healing me, it seems.

"Don't be sorry about anything. It's not your fault." I deflect.

"I dunno, man. I just feel bad about it." He shrugs.

"I don't need any pity." I spit out, more angrily than I want to. Jaune closes his mouth and stops talking.

I swallow before sighing heavily. "Sorry, it's just a sore subject for me. I just don't like empty apologies, especially when you're apologizing for someone who got hurt. The worst it gets is at a funeral. 'I'm sorry for your loss.' Tch. It just makes me angry thinking about it."

Jaune sits there quietly, waiting for me to cool down. With another sigh, I look up at him.

"That rant got out of hand... Well, Jaune. What's your story? How'd you end up here?" I ask.

"Alright... well, where do I begin?" Jaune asks, mostly to himself. "I'm Valean... I come from the outskirts of the kingdom, beyond the inner wall."

_What's that? Inner wall... So Vale is a lot larger than I thought..._

"I have seven sisters. Even though they're annoying sometimes, er, most of the time... I love them very much."

I smile at that. At least he has a family he can turn to when he needs support.

"The reason I came to the city proper... I wanted to apply to Beacon and become a huntsman."

I wince at that. Knowing that I took his place in team JNPR... no, it's team NNPR now... it makes me feel really guilty.

"As you can see, I got rejected... and I was stuck in the city with less than a hundred thousand Lien to my name. I couldn't just go back home with nothing... so I asked around for a job. And I ended up here, as an apprentice to a blacksmith."

My ears perked up at this revelation. A blacksmith, huh? That can come in useful...

Jaune leans back into his chair, staring up at the ceiling. "Ya know, I wanted to become a huntsman because I wanted to help people. But I guess that dream's done and dusted now..."

...

"No, Jaune. You've got the wrong idea."

"Huh?" Jaune looks back down, his deep blue eyes portraying an air of confusion.

"You don't have to be just a huntsman to help people. In fact, becoming a hunter is an obvious choice. I'd wager that your job will help more people than I ever will."

"What do you mean?"

"As a blacksmith you'll be making weapons for hunters, who'll be using them to keep the kingdoms safe from the Grimm. So even if you won't be on the front lines, you'll always be indirectly helping people." I smile, leaning over to softly slap him on the shoulder.

Jaune's face lights up. "W-Wow... I've never really thought about it that way..."

"Noctis! Your shirt's finished!" Mrs. Aquila raises her voice to catch my attention.

Nodding to Jaune, I get up from my seat and stroll my way into the kitchen. Mrs. Aquila hands me over my shirt, which I examine. Handling the cloth, it's almost impossible to notice the patchwork, except for a few small bumps in the fabric.

"Thanks, Mrs. Aquila."

"Oh, don't mention it, dear. Why don't you call your friend over? Dinner's ready." She gives a motherly smile and turns away to finish up the cooking.

_That's right... Blake..._

Groaning quietly, I palm my face and slip on my navy blue shirt, now looking more casual than a hospital patient. Testing my shoulders for the umpteenth time, I slink my way towards the corridor leading to the bedrooms. Reaching the end of the hallway, I push open the ajar door, greeting the sight of Blake leaning onto the open window sill of the room, staring outside.

Standing in the doorway, I can't help but watch Blake's hair and bow flow in the wind. She lets out a small sigh, and I somehow know that she's frowning.

"Blake."

She turns abruptly, clearly caught off guard by my presence, despite her faunus attributes. "Did you need something?"

I clear my throat. "Um, yeah... the Aquilas invited us to eat dinner with them. Wanna come with?" I jab a thumb to point behind me.

"I... Alright." She softly closes the window before moving away from it to leave the room. I move out of the way for her, and as she passes me, I breathe in.

_P-Perfume? She... smells nice. Like lavender, I think-_

I blink. What the hell was that? Why did I-?

With a hand, I place it on my cheek, feeling a burning sensation. Taking my Scroll out, I examine myself in the dark reflective screen. I can just barely make out the blush staining my cheeks.

Taking in deep breaths to calm my beating heart, as well as a second to cool myself down, I spend a few moments standing next to the open window in the corridor to clear my thoughts.

_Good freakin' grief... Let's hope I don't act like that in front of Yang. Her teasing will be the death of me._

Feeling a migraine coming along, I palm my face as I walk back into the living room, the smell of food making my stomach rumble. Blake stands awkwardly to the side, not sure what to do.

"C'mon." I lightly tap her shoulder to get her attention. She freezes up, her hand reflexively reaching up to grab at her weapon, before remembering she's not in danger, and that _Gambol Shroud_ is resting on the wall next to the door.

_She's really paranoid..._

As she takes a seat at the dining table, she tries not to look Jaune in the eye, a bit shameful about how she acted a while back. Jaune doesn't hold any animosity, giving a friendly smile, which Blake doesn't even seem to notice.

Mrs. Aquila says something about how her husband is tied up at work, and won't be here to eat dinner with us, which we all acknowledge with small nods and some words. Jaune takes his seat across from Blake, and I take one next to her. Mrs. Aquila takes her seat next to Jaune, and we dig in.

We eat in silence, the clink of silverware against ceramic being the only noise to fill the room. Nobody has anything to say, and I'm not gonna lie and say that I'm not somewhat grateful for that. Even so, it's a bit awkward for everyone involved. Blake fidgets with her fork before sighing.

"I'm sorry."

Jaune looks up from his meal. He looks at me, mouthing silently, 'Is she talking to me?'. I nod.

"It's... It's fine? You don't have to apologize for anything." Jaune tells Blake.

Blake opens her mouth, but all she can say is: "I'm sorry."

She twiddles her thumbs, keeping her gaze down towards the table. "I treated you... roughly, and I just want to apologize for that. It wasn't right of me."

"Look, um..." Jaune looks to me for a name. I give it to him. "Blake... you don't have to worry about anything. Noct was hurt and I was being suspicious. I guess I should say sorry too for eavesdropping." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck, giving a reassuring smile to Blake.

Blake is taken aback by this. She didn't expect to be forgiven so easily, and this does make her feel a bit more guilty.

"Like I said, it's fine. Let's just eat, alright?" Jaune wisely ends the conversation at that.

We continue eating in uneventful silence, and Blake finally gains an appetite, scarfing down the bowl of food and asking for seconds. I chuckle a bit at her antics, looking away when she hears me.

I spend most of the time watching everyone eat rather than doing so myself. It makes me smile a bit. I didn't really listen to the conversation, only soaking in the atmosphere with a content sigh. I nod along, watching Jaune talk to Blake and having them swap stories. Mrs. Aquila also reveals her occupation as a blacksmith alongside her husband, whose name is Cedric Aquila.

Blake and I already know her status as a faunus, but we never bring it up in conversation. With these facts in mind, I try to think up of a motive for the kidnapping. Why did these so called Black Hand kidnap Desiree? Was it only because she was a faunus and this group was for human supremacy? Or was there a deeper motivation? Questions for later.

Even by the end of dinner, Mrs. Aquila's husband still hasn't shown up. I begin to get a little worried, considering how the Mrs. got kidnapped, but Desiree isn't concerned, insisting that her husband is just caught up at work.

"Ah... that hit the spot." Jaune comically pats his stomach, accidentally letting out a prolonged belch.

"That's fucking disgusting, man." I laugh loudly, softly punching Jaune in the shoulder. Blake just looks at us with disgust, muttering something about 'boys'.

Jaune and I are seated on the couch facing the holographic projector, while Blake sits in the chair next to us. I roll my head back onto the cushion, resting for a while and taking a small nap. Jaune gets up to help Mrs. Aquila with the dishes, leaving Blake and I alone in the living room.

"...Here."

I open my eyes. "Hm? Did you say something, Blake?"

When I look to see what Blake has in her hand, my eyes bug out.

"What the- Where the hell did you get this!?"

Blake's holding that knife I stole from the man back at that warehouse, wrapped up in a leather holster. Did she think it was mine?

"Is this yours? I found it on the floor next to you." Blake says, laying the weapon down on the coffee table.

I reach forward, about to take the holstered knife, but I pause. I don't lie to people... much, but lying about something this petty...

"Blake, this isn't mine."

The girl hums quietly. "Oh. Well, in any case... Do you want it?"

"Huh?"

"I don't really need it... and we can't just take it back. So, do you want this knife?" Blake questions, crossing her legs together.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, taking the knife from the table. Holding it by the sheath, I pull the knife out. It's really nothing special, just a standard combat knife you can find at any gun store. The bladed edge is rather dull, and some red stains are present on the tip. Blood, probably, which I should get cleaned up. The blunt edge is serrated near the guard, and some cracks show up when under certain lighting. This knife has seen some shit.

"I can't help but feel I'm committing a crime..." I comment idly, sticking the knife back in its holster and putting it somewhere along the edge of my shorts.

Blake doesn't say anything.

"Right then... What time is it?"

Blake looks at her Scroll. "19:14."

I have to stop and convert the time to the 12-hour format I'm more familiar with, meaning it's now 7:14 PM, for me at least.

"Pretty late." I comment, taking a deep breath and covering my eyes with a forearm.

Blake hums in agreement.

"I think it's time we go home. We've had our stay here." I say, pushing off the couch and standing up. I stretch my muscles, and turn my back sharply, the crackle of my joints giving a sense of euphoria.

At this point, Jaune enters the living room, hearing my last statement.

"You're leaving already?"

"Jaune, unless you want us to sleep over here, we have to go back to the Academy." I tell him, patting myself down, remembering the journal lodged inside my pocket.

"Yeah, but..." Jaune trails off, knowing that this is a pointless thing to argue about.

"Don't worry." I shake his shoulder. "Your boss is a blacksmith, so we'll have a plenty good excuse to see you." I grin.

His face lights up slightly. Blake and I leave the apartment, with all our gear, or rather, just Blake's, safely within her hands. Blake shifts her weight, moving _Gambol Shroud _around until she feels it to be secure.

Blake and I exchange Scroll details with Jaune, seeing as he is now a friend, though Blake may disagree with that point. He also gives me the address to his boss's workplace, which I accept with gratitude. I give the blond boy a fistbump.

"We'll be seeing ya soon."

"Good-bye, Jaune." Blake adds, bringing up her Scroll.

"Yeah... bye, guys. Even though it's only been a day, I still feel like I've known you forever." Jaune says, sighing quietly.

"I feel the same way." I reassure him. _Even though I've technically known you for a while._

"Well... bye, you two." Jaune repeats, closing the apartment door and locking it, leaving Blake and I standing in silence.

"Right... time to go home."

"Let's get to the roof. I've called a Bullhead to pick us up." Blake informs me, heading to the elevator.

I follow after the girl wordlessly, fishing out the journal from my pocket. Some of the pages are folded, and a few mysterious stains dirty the cover of the book. Waiting for the elevator to ascend, I open the journal up, the map I drew of the warehouse is still there, with my notes written haphazardly within. I turn the page to a fresh one, ready to be written in. The pencil bound to the journal is still sharp, and I think about what to write.

The elevator dings, the door opening to the roof. I walk outside unconsciously, following Blake by instinct rather than watching my step, my attention still focused on the journal.

_Okay... what's up first? There's the White Fang... then the dance... then Mountain Glenn. And the festival. Fuck, how am I gonna go about doing thi-_

Blake grabs me by the collar, keeping me from walking any further.

"You were about to walk off the roof there."

_What?_

I look down, yelping as I notice the long drop to the street below. With Blake pulling me, I scramble away from the edge and drop down to my ass. I take a deep breath to calm my heart, and I get up, my journal still firmly planted in my palm.

"What were you thinking, Noctis? _Were _you thinking?" Blake chides, rubbing her temple.

"Sorry about that... just a bit... preoccupied."

Blake notices the journal in my hand. "So you were writing something? Noctis, you can do that when we're on the Bullhead. If I wasn't there to help you, you'd be a stain on the concrete."

Blake didn't put any force behind her sentence, only scolding me out of concern. She lets her eyes loiter on me for a moment before she looks away.

The low hum of a Bullhead grabs our attention, and I get up from the roof, walking back to the edge with Blake in tow. I watch as the Bullhead slows its descent, the whirring of motors pulling the engine perpendicular to the ground. The door closest to us opens, allowing for Blake and I to hop on.

Blake then slams her fist against the metal cage, signalling to the pilot that all passengers are on board. The door closes with a hiss, and the Bullhead lifts off, heading back to the school.

I breathe a sigh and fall into the chair, opening my journal yet again.

I begin writing down all the details I remember about the show, and fill up two pages worth of the stuff.

I look up at Blake to see if she's looking at me, but all she does is stare out the window, waiting for the Bullhead to land at the docks.

With one final scribble, I close the journal and slip the pencil back in its holder. With a quiet sigh, I rest my head against the cold metal of the Bullhead, feeling the deep rumble of its Dust-powered engine resonate with my body. I stare out of the window, watching the waves of the lake lap, the broken moon reflecting brightly against the surface.

I close my eyes.

—o—

**A/N: Back with another chapter. Really didn't feel like writing, but here's a somewhat longer chapter to compensate.**

**And yeah, Jaune's in this story. He'll be mostly a background character, but he'll show up when he shows up.**


	10. Veritas

Chapter 10: Veritas

—o—

**April 12**

**17:47**

**Beacon Academy Arenas**

"Match begins in 10 seconds." The automated voice drones out.

I stand still, my left hand at the ready by my side. Ren unfurls his dual SMGs, flipping them by the trigger guard before falling into a loose stance, pointing his guns at me.

"5."

I take a deep breath. No need to be scared. You have Aura protecting you. It's not like I was killed by a gunshot... Yeah...

"4."

I swallow, my dry mouth forcing me to lick my lips.

"3."

My hand twitches.

"2."

Ren lowers his stance.

"1."

A slight wind picks up.

A loud buzzer announces the beginning of the match, and I quickly jump into action.

I let out a restrained yell as my weapon explodes into the air, showering the arena in a blue glow. Raising my hand to the sky, I loosen my grip. The sword flies true, straight towards Ren's person.

The blade slices through the air, which Ren doesn't dodge, only raising his guns' bayonets in an attempt to counter.

I should mention that this training session, I'm having my team practice blocking and parrying. The logic behind this is that I wanted us to become better, faster, and more precise in our fighting. Any attack from your opponent has to be received by blocking, parrying, or just tanking the hit straight on. No dodging was to be allowed.

Calling onto my Semblance, the familiar coldness washes over me as it whisks me to my destination. Making a grasping motion, my travel through hammerspace places me with my sword in an instant, a ghostly image left behind where I was just a few moments prior.

Ren isn't surprised in the slightest, which is good. He pulls the triggers on his guns, the blue muzzle flashes forcing me to cover my eyes and redirect the bulk of my Aura to my front.

Letting the weight of my sword carry me, it falls due to gravity, twisting my body in a front flip. And then, just when I complete the flip, I resummon my sword, the blade clashing harshly against the small blades attached to Ren's _StormFlower_.

This pushes him back a bit, his feet digging into the arena floor. Grunting slightly, Ren focuses his Aura into his bayonets, a slight shockwave sending me flying back.

Rolling on the floor like a bale of hay, I recover by stabbing my sword into the ground. As I slow to a stop, I let a breath I didn't know I was holding.

***BEEP* *BEEP***

Oh, that's right, I should mention that my monitor automatically notifies me of my Aura level by the way of beeps. For every 10 percent of Aura lost, my monitor gives a sound cue.

_80 percent already... still gotta work out the kinks of my Semblance. _I think idly, resting on the weight of my weapon.

Ren points his guns, shooting at me again, which just has me hiding behind the thick metal of my sword. The pinging of ammunition slamming against my makeshift shield has me thinking.

"I really need a shield..." I mutter angrily.

I peek over the hilt of my sword, immediately regretting it as Ren slams twin magazines into his guns and fires again.

"And I really need a ranged weapon..." Add that to the list, brain.

Waiting for the fire to die down, I spring into action as the arena grows quiet. Letting go of the grip of my weapon, it disappears, still leaving a cut in the floor. Sprinting, I warp towards Ren again, feeling some of my Aura slipping away.

Soaring through the air, my blade crashes into Ren, who failed to bring up his guns, as he was still busy reloading. The force of my body disarms the boy, one of his SMGs falling to the edge of the arena. Ren falls down on one knee, his shield flashing briefly.

My momentum forces me to fly over him, and I rotate my body to land on my feet.

Which fails miserably as the back of my foot catches on the ground, causing me to land on my ass.

"Dammit." I voice out my frustration, rolling onto my knees to get back up.

My mind senses danger, and I stick out my hands on pure instinct, Aura flowing to the palms of my hands.

Ren, who has long since recovered, has his SMGs cutting into my hands, the blue pulse of my Aura preventing him from drawing any blood.

"Pay attention." He chastises, breaking off to attack from a different angle.

"I'm trying, okay?" I tell him sharply, summoning my sword to block a swipe from his bayonets.

My eyes dart back and forth between his hands, my own matching his movements. However, with his small weapons, they easily slip past my defense, the green blades of _StormFlower_ slicing into my Aura.

Wincing at the slight pain, I instead grab the boy by his sleeves, pulling him over my back and throwing him onto the arena floor. This catches him by surprise and leaves him winded due to the disruption to his breathing.

"Ack!" Ren's eyes widen, and spit flies from his mouth as his back slams into the floor.

Blinking the sweat away from my eyes, I summon my sword as Ren recovers with a leaping kick that pushes me back a few feet. His feet still planted on the flat of my blade, he pushes off of it and rolls backward, his guns raised.

"What the hell, man? Where did you learn how to do that?" I mutter quietly, not intending for Ren to hear it.

Why am I even asking that question anyway? I already know the only answer I'm getting is 'because Aura'. Ever since I've gotten my Aura unlocked, I've been surprising myself every single day with the crazy shit I can now pull off.

Something like this.

Taking a deep breath, I watch carefully as Ren depresses the triggers to his guns. The muzzles flash a bright blue, almost making me hesitate as I lift my sword up with two hands.

It's like time is slowing down, though it's only about 5-10 percent slower if I could guess. It's moving slow enough that I can see each individual bullet sail towards me.

_Alright... here goes... No need to tell me how dumb this is._

Bringing my sword down swiftly, right as the bullets reach me, I slice it right on top of them, catching about 3 rounds under the sharp edge, not that I really counted, since they moved too fast for me to count.

Immediately following up, I slice sideways, facing the flat edge to deflect the bullets, tracers hitting the ground and the shielded ceiling. After that, I swipe up, catching even more bullets, slicing them in two, and the shrapnel zooming past my body.

To keep the weight of the blade from slowing me down, I will it to desummon, and then resummon when I move my hands back up. This time, I slash diagonally, twice in a row, forming a small 'X' if you look hard enough.

Repeating those moves a couple of times, speeding up as I got comfortable, I stop when I hear the distinct click of an empty gun.

Using my momentum, I slam the tip of my sword into the floor, dropping onto my knees and resting my arms on the hilt.

"Guh... huh... huh..." I breathe heavily, sweat dripping down my forehead.

Ren almost looks surprised, his eyebrows twitching.

"...Impressive."

Breathing out of my mouth, a small smirk rises. "That all you... can say?"

Losing all my strength, I let go of my sword, falling backwards onto the floor.

"Dammit... I'm beat. Stop the match. I forfeit." I raise a hand, Scroll in the palm. Tapping on the screen with my thumb, the large screen above the arena goes dark.

"...Noctis Fleuret... has forfeited the match." The emotionless voice drones. "The winner is... Lie Ren."

All goes quiet.

Ren's face fills my vision.

"You fought well."

I roll my eyes, splaying out in a starfish.

"...Sure."

He stretches out his hand.

Groaning loudly, I clasp my hand on his forearm and pull, getting back onto my own two feet. Looking over to my right, Nora and Pyrrha are still sparring.

A few days have passed since that incident back in the city. The bullet wound in my chest healed up quickly thanks to my Aura, and I removed the white bandaging restricting my torso. Sometimes I would feel a sharp stinging pain where the wound was, but that always went away quickly.

I spent those days trying to establish a rapport with Jaune, texting him about his apprenticeship and my stay at Beacon. He was quite curious what it was like in the Academy, and I gave him all the details, feeling a little guilty doing so. I also assured him I would be showing up to see him in person very soon, and promised that I would bring along some of my friends, that is, my team and team RWBY.

"You dropped this."

I see Ren holding a knife in his hand. I gingerly take it from him. I probably dropped it when I fell on my ass.

"Thanks."

"That was... quite a maneuver you performed." Ren compliments.

"Yeah." I smile slightly. "I've been practicing."

My Aura is down in the single digits, while Ren's is at around the high 40's. I'm improving, but slowly. I know progress is time consuming, but it still leaves me frustrated at my... er, level of skill.

Flipping the knife in my hand, I place it back into its holster, which I've now situated on my left shoulder, where, in the event that I pull out the knife, would be held in a reverse grip.

The knife itself is looking better than ever, polished to a bright metallic sheen. The bloodstain on it was the first thing to go, which I wiped down with a wet rag. I think I got lucky, considering the cracks in the knife were mostly superficial. I also had to painstakingly convince Ruby to lend her personal whetstone and polish, which she demanded me to pay back in a week worth of desserts from the cafeteria.

The seven inch blade was sharpened, and I rewrapped the handle with some new grip tape for added tactility. The knife looks brand new, which makes me quite happy.

Hopping in place slightly, I smile as the knife stayed in place, and I continue to watch Nora and Pyrrha duke it out. Nora's blunt, yet still effective fighting style clashes with Pyrrha's elegant and speedy style.

Nora is relatively slow when compared to Pyrrha, but her style allows her to use the momentum of every strike to great effect. If she misses, she redirects the attack somewhere else, even switching _Magnhild_'s form mid-battle in an effort to throw Pyrrha off. Even though I frown upon her excessive showmanship, what with her twirling her hammer and performing risky maneuvers just to look 'fabulous', in her words, I can't deny the success she has in combat.

Pyrrha likes to stab a lot, which makes a lot of sense, considering the shape of her weapon. She also handicaps herself for our benefit, never using her Semblance in our spars, unless we specifically ask her to, for some reason or another. Seeing Pyrrha in action, I'd say with utmost confidence that she has earned the title of 'Invincible Girl'... though later events will prove to challenge that.

A decent crowd has gathered around the two of them, cheering on literally just Pyrrha. This is the only reason that I dislike having Pyrrha as a teammate, and it's not even because of _her_ as a person, it's the fan group she gathered just by stepping into Beacon Academy. It really ticks me off, and the frown plastered on my face tells a lot.

Ren sympathizes with me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "With all that attention on her, we're practically invisible."

I snort. "Can't your Semblance do that for us?"

"That only works on Grimm." He reminds me with amusement.

I exhale from my nose, indicating slight amusement. Say, is there even a word for that? When you see something funny, sometimes it doesn't make you laugh, but it's just funny enough that you have to smile a bit and breathe out from your nose. Okay, that totally got out of hand.

"Well, looks like she's the human version of your Semblance. Attracting everyone towards her and ignoring us." I joke, nudging Ren in the side.

Ren let out a slight chuckle, his well crafted exterior of indifference cracking ever so slightly. Hanging around with him, and with every team meeting at lunch and dinner, he opened himself more and more to the rest of our friend group, dropping witty one liners whenever he felt it appropriate.

And even with his Semblance of hiding emotions, it is impossible not to notice his attraction towards Nora, and I would sometimes catch him smiling towards the girl. I never make any mention of it to him, as the first time I tried that, he stopped talking to me for the rest of the day.

Suddenly the loud cheering from the crowd reaches a fever pitch, forcing me and Ren to plug our ears at the ruckus.

"And that's the match." Ren comments, seeing Nora's Aura break from Pyrrha's final attack.

I can tell that Ren is a bit concerned for Nora, if you can see his furrowed eyebrows. Even though Nora is really in no relative danger, Ren almost dashes forward, stopping himself at the last second.

_If only you two could just say those three magic words to each other._ I think idly, watching Pyrrha pull Nora to her feet.

Pyrrha turns to her fanboys and waves, which I think is a big mistake on her part. Interacting with your fans will just make them more rabid. The crowd roars at her input, and Pyrrha almost _flinches_ from the volume, her smile twitching a bit. Nora huffs, grabbing her hammer and jumping off the arena, making her way towards the two of us.

"Those fanboys of hers are so freakin' annoying..." Nora mutters, collapsing her weapon to its grenade launcher form and holstering it to her waist.

"Ditto on that, Nora."

I sigh as Pyrrha is swarmed, being asked for autographs and selfies. And of course, like clockwork, she decides to humor them.

_I'm sorry for even thinking about this, Pyrrha, but you gotta stop being a carpet and letting people walk all over you._

"So, Boss, what happens next?"

I glance at Nora, who has an inquisitive expression on her face.

"What happens next... How about dinner?"

Nora jumps up giddily, wrapping her arms around my neck and forcing me to give her a piggyback ride, making Ren and I laugh at her antics.

"That's a great idea, Boss!" Nora lowers herself to look at me from behind my shoulder.

"Right, Nora. But please stop calling me Boss, it makes me feel weird." I chuckle, adjusting my hold on the girl.

Nora blows a raspberry and releases her hold on my shoulder to point forward. "Onward, my trusty steed!"

"Alright, alright...! Just hold on a second. Who's gonna be the one to get Pyrrha out of that mess?" I nudge my head towards that... debacle.

I can hear Nora pout. "I did that last time... no more." She mutters dramatically.

"Well, I'm holding Nora, and she won't let go... so I guess it's your turn, Ren." I smirk at the boy, chuckling inwardly at the terrified look on his face.

Thinking about it for a second, Ren sighs, slumping forward and walking towards Pyrrha in an attempt to drag her away.

"Think he'll be okay?" I ask Nora, who giggles.

"Oh, he'll be just fine. If I know him as well as I think I do, nothing will go wrong." The girl says confidently.

"Don't jinx it." I warn her, making my way towards the exit, with Nora still on my back. I jump slightly to readjust her, checking my grip on her legs.

"Damn... you're heavy." I mutter quietly. The girl on my back tenses up, and I freeze.

_Oh shit. Did I say that out loud?_

Nora leans forward, whispering into my ear. "Did I happen to hear something, oh dear leader of mine?"

My pupils shrink and I chuckle nervously. "H-Heheh, y-you must be hearing things. Must've been the wind..."

"Oh really?" Nora asks, her demeanor setting a dark mood over the surrounding area, almost somehow dropping the room temperature a couple degrees.

Before she can say any more, the PA system suddenly sparkles to life, causing me to stop and listen carefully. Nora lifts her head from my ear, curious as well.

"Will Noctis Fleuret please come to the headmaster's office? I repeat, Noctis Fleuret, please come to the headmaster's office. Thank you." Goodwitch's voice dies out as the PA system turns off.

I lower myself to help Nora down from my back.

"Huh? What happened? Are you trouble, Boss?" Nora asks, sobering up immediately, and a bit worried.

I sigh, running my hand through my hair. "I hope not. But... if it's what I think it is, you don't have to worry about a thing."

"What is it?" Nora presses.

"It's... something personal, Nora. I might tell you and everyone else... later." I deflect. It was a half lie.

Nora looks at me with scrutiny before letting it go. "Alright... Will we still see you at dinner?"

"Yeah, if it's nothing too important..." I trail off.

"...Kay then!" Nora salutes and grins happily. "See you later, Boss!" But her eyes say something more like 'If I heard what I thought I heard, you're dead.'

I nod, smiling. A drop of sweat forms. "Y-Yeah, you too, Nora."

"And _please _stop calling me Boss..." I grumble to myself, watching the peppy girl skip out of the arena.

A gust of wind makes me wince, and I see Ren and Pyrrha rush out of the room, the fanboys running after the two of them, clearly in an uproar. I almost get trampled over, and have to abuse my Semblance to get out of getting myself killed.

Hanging off the roof with my grip tight around the hilt of my sword, I listen as the rumble of their footsteps slowly die off, leaving the arenas that much emptier. There are still teams practicing, sure, but most of the people inside were just there to watch Pyrrha fight.

_Now... time to head to Ozpin._

Shuddering at the thought, I let go, falling back down onto the floor in a crouch. I leave the arena, and meet the sight of the sun setting. The constant sight of Bullheads racing over the campus has stopped fazing me for quite some time, and I cover my eyes as a slight gust of wind blows against my body. The fall temperature feels cool against my skin, and I shiver slightly due to my attire.

Moving past the auditorium, I am met with Vale's CCT, where Ozpin's office resides at the utmost top. The height of the tower makes me feel small, even for my six feet of flesh.

Entering the CCT, staff members I don't recognize mill around the first floor, performing their jobs at maintaining a constant stream of data coursing throughout the planet. They're probably people working for Vale's government. I can also see some students around, mostly upperclassmen who need to use the CCT for whatever reason.

Entering the elevator that went exclusively to Ozpin's office, I wait as the doors close and the familiar increase of weight moves the elevator up. Turning around, the glass window zooms past concrete walls that separate the glass in series, still allowing some of the view of Vale to be seen inside.

After a few minutes of waiting, I finally reach Ozpin's office.

**18:01**

**Ozpin's Office**

Peering inside the room, Goodwitch is speaking to Ozpin behind his desk, looking out towards the campus. Their conversation is hushed, and immediately stops as Ozpin notices my presence.

He glances at Professor Goodwitch. "Glynda, leave us."

"By your command, headmaster." Goodwitch bows slightly, turning to enter the elevator I just exited. She gives a small look before walking past me. The metal doors close behind me.

"Headmaster." I say reflexively, slowly making my way towards his desk.

Ozpin uses a finger to push his glasses up. "A timely entrance, indeed, Mr. Fleuret. Please, take a seat." He gestures to the chair in front of his desk. I take it.

"What am I doing here?" I begin bluntly, eager to get this over with.

Ozpin takes his time, placing his cane onto his desk and sitting in his chair behind his desk. He forms a tent with his hands and looks at me.

"I do believe it is time we have a serious conversation."

_Wait, is this about-_ I jump up in my seat. "Have you-"

"Sit down, Mr. Fleuret." His voice booms.

I look away, slowly lowering myself back into the chair. Ozpin swirls his drink, taking a sip.

"I do not go back on my word. I know what you're thinking. Yes, I have begun investigations with this... 'Cinder Fall'."

"Have you found anything yet?" I ask nervously, wringing my hands together.

Ozpin smiles. "Indeed I have, Mr. Fleuret. It's quite strange... quite strange. This... Ms. Fall, seems to have fallen off the face of Remnant. I've had a colleague investigate into her, but it seems she has disappeared entirely. She has been thorough... no records of her birth nor of her existence, but some mentions of her name have been floating in the underground."

"Like she's been erasing her tracks..." I add, slouching slightly in my seat.

"That's correct. Quite suspicious..." Ozpin leans back into his chair, grabbing his mug to take yet another sip. It's a wonder how he doesn't ever seem to run out of his drink.

"That's all I have on the subject of Ms. Fall, for now. It took quite a while to dig up this information. What else do you have for me? Any names, details. I'm afraid the possibility of your claim being true is growing higher by the day."

I mentally pump my fists. "Yeah, I've got some for you." _I hope I remember them correctly... I've forgotten some of the finer details of the show already._

"I'll start with names... I guess... You know who Arthur Watts is?"

The headmaster's eyes flash in recognition, even behind his tinted glasses. "Watts? Hm... I thought the man was disgraced after his stunt back in Atlas."

I nod solemnly. "Yeah... He's working for Salem, now, and he's very dangerous." I warn him.

Ozpin nods. "I'll take note of that."

"There's Tyrian Callows. A scorpion faunus." I rattle off.

Ozpin furrows his eyebrows. "Hm... I have never heard of him..."

"Oh, right, there's also Cinder's goons... Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai." I say a bit angrily. Those two will have to be dealt with.

A passing thought crosses my mind. _They're the ones that killed Tukson... Shit! I'll have to warn him to leave quicker._

"Alright." Ozpin mutters.

"Hmm... there's also... Hazel Rainart."

"Hazel... can't say I've heard that name before. Rainart... ah, I remember seeing that name somewhere, but it seems I have forgotten."

Ozpin pulls up an app on his Scroll, quickly typing out all the names I have given to him. The quiet sound cue of digitized keyboard tapping fills the ear before slowing stopping. The headmaster looks up.

"Mr. Fleuret... back at Initiation... I asked you how you knew about Salem... but you did not answer. I let you off the hook, but... now is the time you give me an answer. How have you come across this knowledge?"

I lower my head, sighing heavily. "Sir, I... I don't know."

Ozpin lowers his Scroll. "Mr. Fleuret, please. This information you have provided me is invaluable to the cause. Your claim of the destruction of Beacon seems to become more and more concrete by the day, and now that we have some leads..."

He sighs. "Look, I just want to understand _how_ you came across this information. Some of these things I have told no one, not even my colleagues. Yet you still somehow _know_."

I sigh. "Fine. I'll tell you. But don't be surprised if what I say sounds insane."

...

"Do you believe in reincarnation?" I drawl out.

Ozpin's breath hitches. It all hinges on this. I never really realized it until now. Ozpin's situation and I are almost one and the same. Technically, there are two people in my... body. Just like Ozpin's, but his mind has probably melded with _Ozma's_ already. Until I can find solidarity with Somnus, we'll still be two people. I'm not even sure about it yet anyway.

"I... I do." He replies truthfully, surprising me.

"And do you believe in a multiverse?" I further ask, gripping the edge of my seat.

"A-A multiverse...?"

"Yeah. That the result of any action is the creation of a parallel universe that's slightly different. And that there are an infinite amount of these universes." I explain.

"Where is this going?" Ozpin leans forward.

I sigh. "It's because I'm a reincarnation." _Just like you._ I don't say that aloud.

Ozpin almost jumps.

"But not from Remnant. I come from a planet called Earth. Well... All this... all this shouldn't even be real. Where I come from... this is all a web show, called RWBY, spelled out exactly the way you think. Ruby Rose is the main character... along with Weiss, Blake, and Yang."

"...A... A web show? What...?" Ozpin asks in disbelief, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't expect you to believe me right away, but it's the truth." I tell the man, my hands clenching on the armrests of the chair.

"In my... past life, this world is fiction. But due to the multiverse, since anything goes... It's now a reality."

I look up, watching the gears in Ozpin's clock tower slowly spin. The gears clunk rhythmically, the shadow sometimes covering my face.

"I guess I should start from the beginning. It all started when I died. It... was my seventeenth birthday a few weeks prior. And I get shot. Walking back home from school. My god, what an anticlimactic way to go, huh?" I bark out a humorless laugh, my eyes still locked onto the ceiling.

I take a shaky breath, swallowing. "God... now that I'm actually thinking and talking about it, it fucking hurts... Mom... Dad... all my friends... all gone. If only I just stayed... stayed dead."

"F... Fuckin' hell." I blink back nonexistent tears. I can't believe I'm falling apart in front of Ozpin of all people.

Yet again, the shifting gears fill the air, a large metallic rumble signifying a new minute. I remember that Ozpin's office doubled as a clock tower for the school.

"Mr. Fleuret... I want to believe you, but... Without any solid proof, I cannot do so. I'm sorry. All this is too far fetched." Ozpin says.

I keep my gaze on the floor, my eyebrows furrowed. A new thought forming in my mind, I put my hand in my pocket, pulling out my Scroll... no, my phone, out.

"If you still don't believe me... I have photos on here that show things that don't exist on this planet."

I dangle the device in front of the headmaster. "You see this thing? It's not a Scroll. I've only called it one to keep things consistent. It's just called a smartphone back on Earth. I found it on me when I woke up here."

I place my thumb on the singular button on the bottom bezel of the phone, clicking it once. The phone quickly recognizes my thumbprint. The screen turns on, the familiar wallpaper of the white and red Initial D logo against a black backdrop. Quickly tapping the screen, I open the Photos app, old memories from my past life rushing back.

Wordlessly, I show the man pictures of me and my friends, alongside landmarks of Earth that I took the rare times I've traveled. I just swipe through my gallery, pictures of cars, the insides of computers, just letting him soak in all the information.

And finally, I show him the holy grail. An atlas of the Earth.

I hear a slight gasp. "This is..."

"Yeah. A map of th-" I stop myself. "My planet. My old planet. It's called Earth."

Ozpin frowns. "Earth? Like the ground you walk on?"

"No- I- Uh-" I stop.

...

"Sure. That's the name, anyway."

The headmaster continues looking at the map, my Scroll being placed onto his desk. With my permission, he connects my Scroll up to his projector, blowing up the atlas into a manipulable and holographic version. While still flat, he can see all the major details, like names of continents, countries, states, cities, the whole works.

_How fucking lucky was I that I had this on my phone? I think it was back when I needed an image for a project or something... Why else would I have one?_

...

Ozpin continues staying silent, his face in a neutral expression. A slight frown is still visible, however. He cradles his head in his hands, his tinted glasses slipping off the bridge of his nose. Lowering his head, the headmaster takes two deep breaths before speaking up.

"Just... go. You're dismissed. I... I need time to process this."

I blink in shock. "Yes, sir." I reply automatically, getting up from the chair. I stop.

"Do you... uh, need a copy of it?"

He shakes his head. "No need. I've already downloaded it to my Scroll."

"...A-Alright."

_What kind of bullshit is that?_

I turn to leave, snatching my Scroll back from Ozpin's desk. I press the button to call the elevator. The doors open, and I enter. Without looking back, I hit the button to the first floor. The doors close behind me.

Ozpin groans after I leave, picking up his Scroll with a tired expression. Scrolling through his contacts, he taps on one, starting a call.

"Qrow?"

A scratchy voice answers him.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

...

"May you please stop by the local bar? Pick up the strongest alcohol they have available."

...

"Yes, you heard me right, Branwen, the strongest. And bring it up to my office."

...

"I am not going senile, Qrow. Just... having a difficult time processing some information."

...

"Yes, of course. Goodbye."

With the tone of an ended call reaching his ears, Ozpin groans again, dropping his Scroll back onto his desk. He massages his forehead, feeling a migraine come on. A small laugh escapes the man's lips, and he stands up from his desk, turning around to watch the city bustle under the broken moon.

"Gods... a web show... how ridiculous... yet I find it hard pressed _not _to believe him. This world we live in... it really is not too far off from something out of fiction." Ozpin mutters to himself.

He fishes a small watch from within his coat, opening it up. The glass holding the components is cracked, and the hands don't seem to be moving, yet a small ticking sound is still present. On the inside of the case, a tiny portrait of him and Salem is visible, back when they were still lovers. Their four children can be seen sitting on the laps of the two of them. This was the last smile Salem ever gave.

_Papa! Papa! Look at this!_

_Papa! Big sis is making fun of me!_

_Mama!_

Snapping out of his thoughts, _Ozma_ slams the watch shut with an excessive amount of force, smiling bitterly and shutting out the memories.

He blinks, a single tear falling from his cheek.

—o—

**18:28**

**Beacon Academy Cafeteria**

"Yo, Noct!"

A rush of other voices jumble together in greetings, which I return with a tired wave, sliding into my seat at the end of the table. I notice that everyone other than me is in their uniforms.

"Hey, guys."

"Are you alright, Noctis? Did something happen?" Pyrrha asks worriedly, watching me rest my head onto the table with a loud thud, a sheen of Aura flashing around my head.

"It's really nothing. Just talked with the headmaster. Burned me out a bit." Closing my eyes, I groan, brooding over my conversation with Ozpin.

_Why are things different? _Is the question on the forefront of my mind. _Maybe not different_, I try to justify. _Just more fleshed out._ _This is real life, no matter how much I want to deny it. I live here now._

_And at least he didn't dismiss it right away. I still have a chance._

_Will I even be able to tell the truth to my teammates... my friends? God, it's hard enough to keep this to myself, and Ozpin's not exactly a person I'm fond to confide in._

Opening my eyes after a prolonged wait, I count off the people at our table. Ruby and Weiss are missing. Blake's reading a book. Yang looks to be studying some material for a class. Pyrrha's eating dinner. Nora seems to be passed out, a content smile on her face. Ren takes his time drinking his tea.

"Where's Rubes and Weiss...?" I mutter out.

Yang leans her head back, groaning loudly. "Gahhhh, I don't even know! I haven't even properly _talked_ to Weiss this week, and Ruby doesn't even look like my sister anymore! I give up on them! They're such children!"

I lift my head back up. Yang calling others children? "Crap, it's getting that bad, huh?"

Yang gives me a half-lidded look. "Oh, you have no idea, Noct. They've been having screaming matches in our dorm ever since Weiss decided to come back to our room to sleep. Great idea, that was." She mumbles sarcastically, the ahoge on her hair conveying some sense of emotion.

Listening to Yang talk, I quickly shovel dinner into my mouth, finishing in no time flat. Remembering to save the dessert for Ruby, I wrap up the cookies in napkins to save for later.

Having something in my hand, my mind wanders on the subject of my Semblance. Can I... 'add' things to my Semblance? I already have my sword... and I can summon it. What about other things? What do I have to do to add more weapons?

"Woah!"

I flinch as the cookies in my hand suddenly disappear in a blue flash. The present members of team RWBY and NNPR all stop what they are doing to look at me with wide eyes.

"Why are you guys looking at me?" I ask dumbly.

"Oh, I dunno... maybe it's because we just heard something explode?" Yang crosses her arms.

"Hey, uh... don't worry about it. Just... Semblance things." I tell the truth.

Smiling stupidly, I make sure everyone goes back to whatever they were doing beforehand. Everyone eventually stops caring, except for Blake, whose eyes linger on me suspiciously. I wave at her, which just has her look away and stuffing her nose back in her book.

Sighing and lowering my hand, I look at my palm. Clenching and unclenching, I search my mind. It's like... there's this permanent list stuck in the back of my brain that I can always look at. I've never noticed it before, but now, there's this... pressure against my head. There's only two listings, my brain tells me.

Closing my eyes, I think about the cookies, and lo and behold, they explode back into reality, dropping into my hand. Still intact, with the white napkins wrapped around them. A few crumbs drop from a small hole in the napkin.

Pyrrha, who's sitting beside me, just gives me a look before sighing and resuming her meal.

I just make the cookies appear and disappear over and over again, the blue flashing of my Semblance lighting up the table each time. If my team and team RWBY are irritated, they don't seem to show it. I almost drop the cookies when the cafeteria grows loud in an instant.

"Someone's fighting outside!" A random student yells out.

"What the hell's going on?" I ask, getting up from my seat. The cookies explode into crystals as I let go.

I reach out to stop a student by the chest, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Hey, you. What's going on?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Dunno, but it looks like two people are fighting."

"What do they look like?" I press, growing increasingly worried.

"I-I don't know." The boy raises his hand in surrender. "I heard that one of them had a... a red cape? The other was a Schnee. That's the only one I'm sure of."

My eyes widen, my grip slackening and letting the student go.

"Ruby... RUBYYY!" Yang jumps up from her seat, pushing students out of the way in an effort to reach the cafeteria doors.

"Shit! Get after her!" I yell out. Pyrrha runs after me, with Blake close behind. The last I see of Ren before wading through the crowd is him trying to rouse Nora up.

"YANG!" I call out. No response.

"Fuckin' hell! Oi, move it!" I curse, shoving students to the side. Ignoring the shouts of complaints, I effectively wade through the sea of people blocking the exit of the cafeteria.

The doors seem to be open, and the commotion becomes louder and louder. The crowd also parts for me to walk through without needing to push I reach the edge of the crowd, I slow my pace down to a walk. The other students see me approach from behind and move out of the way for me.

"I! HATE! YOUUUUUU!"

Ruby and Weiss are grappling with each other. Yang is standing at the edge of the circle of spectators, speechless.

_What... the hell is happening!?_

"Gods..." My head turns to my right. Blake has her hand over her mouth in disbelief. Looking away, I place a hand on her shoulder. I don't blame her.

"How... brutal." Pyrrha comments on my left. I silently agree.

I just can't help but stand there and watch. Ruby and Weiss both have death grips on each other. Bruising is evident on Ruby's face, a large black eye making her blind in her left. Weiss's scar seems to be bleeding, and her lips are split.

"SHUT UP! YOU... YOU... YOU **PRAT**!" Weiss shrills, throwing a nasty punch at Ruby's face, her other hand still gripping on the collar of Ruby's cape, spilling blood.

I flinch. _H-Holy shit... They hate each other... they __**really **__hate each other._

"**STUPID** **PRINCESS**!" Ruby shouts back, headbutting Weiss in the nose. This forces her to let go in a yelp of pain, clutching her bloodied nose.

Ruby takes advantage of this, throwing a sloppy punch at Weiss's face, knocking her down to the ground in a heap unbefitting of the heiress of the SDC.

Ruby is just about to jump onto Weiss and wail on her, but Yang steps in just in time, restraining her by hooking her arms underneath Ruby's armpits.

"GET! OFF ME!" Ruby yells, kicking furiously to no avail.

Yang looks visibly hurt, flinching at Ruby's volume. Her eyebrows are creased, and a frown is plastered on her face. A few stray tears pool at the edge of her eyes, but they don't fall.

"Ruby, please stop." The blonde tries reasoning, wincing slightly as her sister elbows her in the gut to try to release her.

Weiss is still laying on the floor, disoriented. She clutches her head in pain, and when Pyrrha runs to her to help her up, the heiress just tries her hardest to push her away.

"Get away from me." I hear her spit out over the commotion.

Pyrrha looks saddened, backing away with an expression I've never seen on her face before.

_Just what the hell happened between you two? _I think.

Gritting my teeth, I stomp up to Weiss, sitting on the floor, the complete antithesis to the heiress she is supposed to be.

"Get up." I order her, grabbing her by the arm, not gently, but not too harsh. Weiss's legs are shaking so much I could almost feel it.

With tears in her eyes, Weiss tries to shake me off, her blood stained jacket flapping at the effort.

"S-Stop it... Get your... filthy hands off me..."

"Quiet. We're going to Ozpin." I tell the girl, her bruised eyes widening.

"N-No...! I- I don't want to be expelled! Please...! Don't... don't make me..." She trails off, her eyelids fluttering. She almost falls back down again, if not for my hand still wrapped around her arm.

I sigh, handing her over to Pyrrha. "Well, Ice Queen. Maybe if you thought about the consequences, none of this would be a problem now, would it?"

I snap my eyes toward the crimson reaper, boring into her eyes. "And you're not off the hook either. You're coming with Weiss."

She doesn't even respond, hanging limply from Yang's grasp. Her normally silver eyes are now a dull grey, her mouth open in a relaxed position. The bright red streaks in her hair are looking a bit dull as well, and her hair itself is frazzled.

"Come on. Let's go." My voice is monotone and dead as I usher teams RWBY and NNPR to the CCT tower. The crowd disperses gradually as the situation dies down. Ren and Nora catch up from the cafeteria, still out of the loop. I explain it to them, watching the look of horror creeping up Nora's face.

They run towards the group, leaving me behind to wallow quietly. I kick at the stone walkway, looking back up to the top of the CCT, where Ozpin's office resides.

"...Fuck me."

—o—

**A/N: Here's another chapter for y'all. Ending on a low note here. I've never really liked how the conflict between Ruby and Weiss ended in canon. They argue for a bit and the entire thing gets resolved within a single episode.**

**And thanks for reading and reviewing. I actually do read your reviews, people... even the not so positive ones. I just don't respond to them.**


	11. Red vs White

Chapter 11: Red vs. White

—o—

**April 12**

**18:36**

**Ozpin's Office**

"So, what do you girls have to say for yourselves?"

Ruby and Weiss shift uncomfortably on their feet, nursing their bruising wounds. Weiss's split lip and scar have long since stopped bleeding, but the dried blood has formed stains that make her look like she cried blood. Ruby's black eye has gotten worse, where she literally can't open her eye.

"She started it..." They mumble simultaneously, unable to look the headmaster in the eye.

Ozpin's eyes move between Ruby and Weiss before he sighs.

"Alright then... may someone more _cooperative_ please explain to me why these girls standing before me are wounded?"

The group looks at each other. Some of their eyes fall on me, but Yang decides she'll be the one to speak up.

"Uh... they got into a fight." She says dumbly.

...

Ozpin rubs his furrowed brows with his forefinger and thumb, sighing again as he does so. "Right, I can see that. Now I'm asking why you allowed yourselves to get into this situation in the first place."

Ruby and Weiss open their mouths to tell their side of the story. They see each other do see, and growl angrily. They have to be restrained by Yang and Pyrrha, respectively.

"Well, er, headmaster. I'm not so sure myself. We found them fighting outside the cafeteria." Yang chuckles nervously, rubbing her locks of blonde hair.

"I think I have an idea."

Everyone stops, turning to look at me.

I blink, looking away for a second before speaking again. "It has to do with Ruby being the leader..."

I stare Weiss down. "Isn't that right?"

She lowers her glance, forgetting her anger at Ruby entirely.

Ozpin rubs the rim of his mug before drinking its contents. "What say you, Ms. Schnee?"

The office is silent. Everyone waits for the heiress's answer.

"I..."

Weiss closes her eyes and takes a shaky breath. She tries to cast away her emotions, standing at her full height of five feet.

"It's... true." She finally admits with a defeated tone.

"B-But!" Weiss continues with a newfound vigor, trying to cast some blame to her junior. "It's only because she doesn't take anything seriously!"

"Hey!" Ruby yells out, insulted. "That's not fair! You have such high expectations of me I don't think anyone can even live up to them!"

"Well, that's why I propose that _I_ be the team leader!" Weiss points to herself.

"Yeah, but team WBYR isn't exactly a cool name!" Ruby shouts with irrritation.

Weiss yells through her teeth and clenches her fists in frustration. "See! This is what I'm talking about! We're talking about your poor leadership, and all you can think about is how the team name will sound! You're nothing but a _petulant_ child!"

"Girls." Ozpin interjects to no avail.

Ruby almost begins tearing her hair out, biting down a scream. "Well, you're nothing but a hoity-toity princess! I thought maybe you would've changed after the initiation, but no! It just got worse! All you can see of me is a kid, just because I'm younger than you!"

"That's because you haven't earned your position!" Weiss snarls.

"Ozpin _chose_ me to be the leader of RWBY!" Ruby matches Weiss's tone.

"Well, I believe he made a _MISTAKE_!"

"GIRLS!"

Ozpin's booming voice stops the argument dead in its tracks.

Weiss is breathing heavily from the screaming match. As she slows down to think over her words, she gasps.

"G-Gods... I- I didn't mean-" She clutches her head, backing away in shock.

The headmaster sighs, rubbing his forehead. "Perhaps I did make a mistake. I've made more mistakes than every man, woman, and child on this Remnant combined."

Our group shuffles awkwardly as Ozpin openly admits his failures.

"However."

"Ms. Schnee. You must understand that the world does not revolve around you. You have experienced hardships, I am sure of it, but that does not entitle you to special privileges. So you did not become a leader. Do you really believe that acting you way you did would change my mind? Make the best of your situation. Be not the best leader, per se, but the best person you can be."

"And Ms. Rose. I expected more from you. Being a leader isn't just a title. It's a badge you carry with you for the rest of your career, never mind the rest of your life. It will become a burden, but the way you choose to respond to that burden will separate you from any rank and file hunter."

Ozpin looks to the rest of us with tired eyes.

"This advice also applies to each and every one of you. You are in the top one percent of freshmen teams. You are the model for your peers, so I expect you to do your very best. And if you do not perform at your absolute best, well..."

"How would you expect for others to follow you?"

We stay silent, letting the headmaster's words soak in. We are mostly amazed at the fervor of Ozpin's lecture, and I almost believe every word he said.

"N-No! I refuse!"

I palm my face. _Oh, you've got to be kidding me._

"She's incompetent!" Weiss points indignantly at Ruby, who grits her teeth at her affront.

"Just give me the chance! Let me be the leader! I'll show you that I'm better than her, headmaster!"

_Weiss... just what the hell happened to you?_

Ozpin takes a moment to think, his glasses blacking out for a bit.

...

"Fine."

Weiss, along with everyone else in the office, vocalizes their surprise.

"Wh-What?" The heiress suddenly smiles, feeling that she just got her way. "Do you mean-"

"Let me finish." Ozpin interrupts, wiping the grin off Weiss's face.

"This isn't normally standard procedure, but knowing that you won't change your mind so easily..."

"I propose a duel. Between Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee. The terms are simple. Duel each other until one loses. The winner will become the leader."

Ozpin's office becomes eerily silent.

He turns his gaze to the heiress, who flinches slightly. "Isn't that what you wanted? Display your strength. Let your abilities speak for themselves. If they prevail over Ms. Rose's, then you can become the leader you've always wanted."

Hearing this from the headmaster shakes Weiss. Maybe she's already regretting bringing it up.

Ozpin sighs when he doesn't get an immediate answer. "I'll give you a week to think about it."

He then gestures with his hand. "Glynda, if you will."

I blink. I didn't notice Ms. Goodwitch standing right behind us. She didn't even comment on the situation. Stepping out of the way, I silently let her pass by.

"Take these two to the infirmary."

"Of course, Ozpin." Glynda bows formally.

"Come on." She gently grabs the shoulders of Ruby and Weiss, ushering them towards the elevator. Their heads hang low.

The elevator doors close behind them. Goodwitch, Ruby and Weiss disappear, leaving just NNPR and the rest of RWBY in the office.

"Professor... did you..." Yang starts.

"Did you really mean it?"

Ozpin leans forward, playing dumb. "Mean what?"

"The duel. Is it actually happening?" Yang presses.

Ozpin nods solemnly, falling into his chair. "Yes. I wish it did not have to end this way. But Ms. Schnee..."

"She always was the stubborn type." Pyrrha remembers dejectedly.

Nora blinks, looking at her red-headed teammate with a curious expression. She opens her mouth for the first time since we arrived. "I didn't know you were friends with the ice queen."

Pyrrha laughs quietly, nodding her head. "Let's just say I have some things none of you know about."

"Ahem." Ozpin clears his throat.

"It'd be best if you continue your conversation back at your dorms. I still need to sleep, after all. Office hours are long past." He smiles lightly.

Everyone nods in agreement. Saying our goodbyes to the headmaster, we make to leave for our rooms.

"Oh, and Mr. Fleuret, if I may?"

I stop in my tracks, turning my body. "Sir?"

He nods his head, smiling again. "I believe you."

A smirk grows on my face, and I let out a breath of air.

"Thanks."

I enter the elevator, the doors closing behind me.

—o—

Sighing through his nose, Ozpin drops his weight into his chair, relaxing before signing off for the night. Before he can pick up his Scroll, the headmaster pauses. He turns in his chair, looking at one of the pillars in his office.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

A hollow gurgling sound echoes through the office before someone lets out a satisfied exhale.

Stepping out of the shadows, Qrow Branwen points at the headmaster with his flask, the alcohol sloshing inside.

"Didn't really see the need to, Oz. You had it under control." He screws the cap back onto his flask, his slightly drunk gait moving him towards the headmaster.

Qrow drops into the chair across from Ozpin, placing a small paper bag onto the table. It clinks loudly, the glass desk resounding nicely against the contents of the bag.

"Your niece was here." Ozpin states the obvious.

Qrow shrugs nonchalantly, lifting his leg up to rest on Ozpin's desk and relaxing his hands behind his head.

"Can't always have her clinging to me. Ruby needs to learn how to handle herself."

"And Yang?"

Qrow goes quiet, his lips puckering slightly.

Ozpin doesn't wait for a response, grabbing the paper bag. Out comes a large bottle of alcohol, the contents a dark caramel color. He reads the label.

"Whiskey. I've never taken you for a man of taste." Ozpin jokes, sliding a glass over to Qrow.

The jab doesn't go unnoticed, and Qrow frowns as he catches the glass with a finger. "I can appreciate a good drink or two, Oz. Whiskey's just not my type."

"Pure ethanol for you, then?" Ozpin smiles.

Qrow chuckles. "Nah. More like vodka. I'll admit it, Mistral does make some decent alcohol."

Unscrewing the whiskey bottle, Ozpin pours himself a glass. Tilting his head at Qrow, the man nods his approval, watching the headmaster pour him a shot of whiskey as well.

Ozpin lifts up his glass, gesturing to Qrow.

"Cheers."

Qrow copies his gesture, clinking his glass against Ozpin's before the both of them drink.

The alcohol tastes smooth, with a fruity sweetness and a slight nutty flavor. The burning sensation in Ozpin's throat and the back of his nose causes him to wince slightly. He isn't a drinker, and his reaction is evident of that. Qrow, on the other hand, finishes his glass easily, letting out a breath as he places the empty glass back down on the desk.

"Mm... I could get used to this." Qrow's already gravelly voice is amplified twofold.

Ozpin looks at his half-empty glass, the aftertaste of the whiskey kicking in. He finishes the drink, shaking his head to power through the alcohol.

He coughs slightly, regretting it immediately as the vapors burn his sinuses. "I will never understand how you drink so much, yet suffer so little."

Qrow leans into his chair, leaning his arm on the armrest. "That's the thing Oz, I'm always like this. If I stop drinking, I think I might die."

The two men laugh quietly, savoring the moment, as well as the drink. Qrow pours another glass, for both him and Ozpin, who doesn't refuse.

"Another?"

Ozpin lifts his glass again. "Why of course."

Pouring another glass of the 90 proof whiskey, Ozpin breathes in the intoxicating vapor, the sweetness overpowering his sense of smell. He slowly sips the alcohol, enjoying the taste, unlike Qrow, who just downs the whiskey in one gulp.

With a loud burp, Qrow breathes a sigh, slamming his glass down.

In just a short amount of time, Ozpin feels comfortable knocking down glass after glass, but he restrains himself. He has things to discuss with the dusty old crow.

"Have you confirmed it?"

Sobering up immediately, Qrow places his empty glass on the table, pulling his leg back down to the floor.

"Yeah. It's happening. I dunno how you knew so early, but my investigations pulled up evidence. And there's a lot. There's too much to count off as coincidence."

Ozpin rubs his chin. "Hm. Just as I thought, then."

"Mr. Fleuret was correct after all..." He mutters low enough to keep Qrow from hearing.

"Ya say something, Oz?" Looks like he wasn't as quiet as he thought.

He shakes his hand in a dismissing gesture. "Never mind that, Qrow. I'm afraid you'll have to do a bit more. Right now, all we know is that they're hiding somewhere in Vale. I need you to find out where they are."

"How about your little informant? Wouldn't he know?" Qrow mentions.

Ozpin blinks. He hadn't thought of that. If Mr. Fleuret knew about Cinder and Salem, he must...

He shakes his head. "No. We shouldn't. He gave us valuable information, but we cannot expect him to tell us everything. He has been very cooperative, so we shouldn't abuse his goodwill. We will do fine on our own for now."

Qrow seems uneasy, but in the end, he agrees with Ozpin's position on the matter.

"So then we take 'em down?" Qrow asks.

Ozpin shakes his head. "Not this time, I'm afraid. We cannot let them find out that we know about their plans. If they do... we'll be back to square one."

He pauses. "Or worse."

Qrow hums thoughtfully, deferring to the headmaster, for the moment. "Fine then. I won't do anything rash. They won't even know I'm there."

Ozpin sips from his glass of whiskey as a response.

The always drunk scythe wielder slowly rubs the rim of his empty glass, the vibration causing a soft humming noise to resonate.

"So... about your informant... this Fleuret kid... you trust him?"

Ozpin nods after a bit of hesitation. "I do. At first, I thought the boy delusional. I was ready to send him to an asylum, with him claiming that Beacon would be destroyed... but alas..."

"Yeah..." Qrow grumbles. "Do you even know how he got that information, anyway?"

Ozpin just smiles, his eyes closing. "That is a long story. For another time."

Qrow rolls his eyes, standing up. "Everything's a long story with you, Oz."

"Well," Qrow takes a breath, stretching his limbs. "I should get going. This wasn't supposed to be a social visit." He cracks his neck and rolls his shoulder, wincing at a slight pain that suddenly flares in his joints.

_I'm getting too old for this shit._ He thinks, rubbing his neck.

Ozpin's smile slips, and he sighs, rubbing the rim of his round glasses. "Right then. Keep me updated, Qrow."

"Mm-hm. See ya later, old man." Qrow lifts a hand behind him as he walks to the elevator, as a sort of goodbye.

The doors close behind Qrow, and again, Ozpin is left to his own devices, all alone.

"Goodbye." Ozpin replies, even though he knows he is just talking to thin air.

Picking up the half empty whiskey bottle, Ozpin takes it with him as he gets up to leave the office. With his trusty cane in hand, the headmaster takes one look at his office before thumbing the light switch. He watches as the lights dim until all that's left is the moonlight shining through the windows.

He can't help but feel a sense of melancholy.

The gears of the clock tower strike 19:00 as he enters the elevator.

—o—

**April 13**

**00:13**

**Team NNPR's Dormitory**

_I can't sleep._

After two hours of finishing some homework due for Port's class, my team and I phoned it in for the night. However, I've only spent the last few hours or so just tossing and turning in bed, any minute noise causing me to jolt awake. It kills me inside, and it takes all my willpower not to smash the wall with a Aura-enhanced punch. Finally having enough, I get out of bed, throwing the covers off of me. Reaching out blindly, I turn on the lamp placed on my nightstand.

Only to see a pair of green eyes wide awake to meet me.

"Couldn't sleep either, hm?" Pyrrha asks, lying on her side.

I lower my head in defeat, my hair covering my eyes. I put on my slippers and rest my hands on the mattress. I push off of it, standing up to walk to the window.

"Yeah." I answer abruptly, rubbing the insomnia out of my eyes.

Seeing my reflection in the window, I open it, breathing in the fresh air.

"I look like a raccoon." I mutter, eliciting a soft giggle from the red-haired girl. She gets up from bed as well, slipping on a pair of slippers.

Pyrrha yawns, her mane of red hair free from its usual ponytail. It gives her bangs that cover her left eyebrow if she chooses not to brush it aside. Its full length reaches just above her waist.

"How about a walk, Noct? Maybe that can take our mind off of things." Pyrrha suggests, grabbing a scrunchie to do her hair up in a messy bun.

"Sure." I answer, eyeing Nora and Ren, who are snoring and sleeping... respectively.

"Best not to wake them up." Pyrrha whispers, opening the dorm room. A wave of cold air washes over us as the air pressure quickly changes.

Right as we leave, the door across from us opens as well, out stepping Yang and Blake in their pajamas.

Seeing us standing in the hallway, they quietly shut the door to their dorm, which Pyrrha echoes.

After a brief silence, Yang speaks. "Didn't expect to see you guys awake."

"Couldn't sleep either?" I ask in a whisper.

Blake nods, answering for Yang and herself.

"Wanna come inside?" Yang asks, pointing behind her, her mouth running faster than her brain.

...

Blake blushes when her mind catches onto the innuendo, and she smacks Yang upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for!?" Yang yell-whispers, rubbing her now throbbing head.

"You-You know what you said!" Blake stutters, her face dark red. She turns away from the rest of us to try and cool her face off.

Pyrrha just chuckles nervously, hiding her smile behind the palm of her hand. I stifle a laugh, looking away.

Blake abruptly grabs me by my arm, rushing me into RWBY's dorm, and Pyrrha follows soon after. Yang is left standing in the hallway by her lonesome.

"What did I say?" Yang asks, still oblivious.

"Did I say something weird?"

—o—

"H-Hey Blake, I think you can let go of me now..."

The girl's grip on my arm is almost impossible to break, and I resign myself to letting her tug me towards... wherever she wanted to tug me. It seems she hears me, because a few seconds later she stops in her tracks, causing me to almost walk into her. Noticing her hold on me, she releases me with a quiet yelp.

"I-I'm sorry." Blake murmurs out, lowering her head. "I-I think I'm just tired. I wasn't thinking straight."

"It's fine. Don't worry too much about it." I brush it off with a light blush, seating myself at the nearest bed.

_Don't read into it so much you dumbass..._

"This doesn't seem too sturdy..." I muse to myself, eyeing the books holding up the top bunk bed. I gently place a hand against the bedpost, afraid it will slip if I do anything to it.

"Huh. I think this is the first time we've actually been in your dorm." I think out loud, watching Pyrrha react to the... uh, eccentricities of team RWBY.

The red curtains covering the window are sewn up from the giant cut made by Ruby's _Crescent Rose_, and the poster of the Achieve Men as well as Weiss's paintings are up on the walls. The bookcase below the window holds RWBY's textbooks, as well as their... recreational readings... _coughNinjasofLovecough_.

Ruby's bunk bed swings dangerously, still being held up by ropes tied to the ceiling. It's a wonder how it hasn't caved the ceiling in yet, with all that weight.

"So, what do you guys think about it?" Yang asks, jumping onto Blake's bed and causing the bunk to sway. I grab onto the nearest thing... or rather, person. Blake.

"W-Woah!" Losing my balance, I pull Blake along for the ride, falling into the bed covers in a heap. Blake yells out, almost like a cat, hissing and flailing her arms.

Yang sees all this, and purrs, waggling her eyebrows. She whistles, putting her hands behind her head. "Wow... Didn't know you were that type of person, Noct."

"Sh-Shut up! I just don't want your bed crushing me into paste, Yang! So stop shaking it so much!" I release Blake, scrambling away from under the bed.

When Blake emerges from under the bed covers, her hair is frizzled, and her bow twitches. She adjusts the accessory upon her head before glaring at me with upset eyes... as well as a _cute _frown.

_Stop it._

"Never do that again." She warns, her amber eyes... _flashing_ somehow.

I raise my hands in surrender. "Wasn't planning to. I-I'm sorry, Blake." I suddenly become flustered, stuttering as I apologize.

Hearing my apology, her expression softens somewhat before she turns her gaze away. I glare at Yang, who just responds with that infuriating smirk of hers. The atmosphere quickly becomes awkward as I slowly pick myself up off the floor.

And like always, Yang picks up the social slack, shifting topics effortlessly. "Oh, that's right. Pyrrha, you said something about you being friends with Weiss? I'd like to hear more about that."

Pyrrha perks up at this. She sits down on Blake's bed as well, making herself comfortable. We all sit cross legged to make room for all four people. Blake and I sit at the front of the bed, while Yang and Pyrrha seat themselves at the end, resting their backs against each bedpost. I wince, paranoid that if they move too much, the books might slip.

Removing the covers and pillow, we all just sit on a bare mattress, ready to talk about whatever comes to our minds.

"Well... where to begin?" Pyrrha ponders.

"We can start with how you two met?" I suggest, bumping shoulders with Blake.

"Right..." Pyrrha closes her eyes, trying to remember the details of her first encounter with the Ice Queen herself.

"It was around... five years ago."

—o—

**July 15, 5 years ago**

**10:04**

**Mistral Tournament Arena**

_'I had just turned 12. It was my first year at Sanctum Academy, but I had already made a name for myself, then. I was the valedictorian, both in combat and intellectually. My father was the one who recommended me to partake in the Mistral Regional Tournament. I accepted.'_

"Now, Pyrrha. Are you ready?"

She nodded. "Yes, father."

_'I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. It was my first time fighting in a real tournament, and I wasn't confident in my skills. I had yet to earn the title 'Invincible Girl'.'_

"Chin up, my daughter. You will do well, I'm sure of it." Her father smiled, patting her head affectionately.

_'I was but a newcomer in the tournament. As par for all things in Mistral, people placed bets on the odds of my winning. Let's just say that nobody believed in me.'_

"Oi, oi. What's a little girl like you doin' in the Mistral Regional Tournament?"

Pyrrha just bowed slightly. "I-I hope we both can learn something from this fight."

The man, not more than twenty years of age, just scoffed. "Che, I'll not be having a girl tell me what to do. I'll crush you into a pulp, kid."

Pyrrha flinched.

_'I was naive... and innocent. I fully believed that everybody had some good in them. I always gave people the benefit of the doubt. I trusted easily.'_

_'And you are still like that?' Noctis asks._

_'...Yes.'_

She handily defeated him in less than a minute.

The entire arena was silent. Pyrrha's opponent was currently groveling at her feet, nursing his wounds. His Aura pulsed, and he stared up at Pyrrha with hateful eyes.

"I-I'm so sorry..." Pyrrha kneels down to help him, but he just pushes her off.

"Shove off, kid. I don't need your damn help." The man spat out. Picking himself and his dignity off the floor, he hobbled away from the arena.

_'Everyone believed it was a fluke. That I had a bad opponent and that, 'surely, she will be defeated in the next round'. But I won the next fight. And the next. And the next. Until I was face to face with the final opponent in the finals.'_

_'I won that fight, too.'_

"G-Good match." Pyrrha breathed out, her legs shaking from the adrenaline. Her opponent was knocked out completely, her body neatly in an indent in the floor.

_'To be honest, I loved it. I was finally able to fight opponents that were around my level. I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie when I was younger, and I even liked the attention I got.'_

_'Liked?' Blake asks._

_'Yes. I felt like I was on top of the world. But it quickly began to feel hollow. People only saw me as the 'Invincible Girl' after winning that tournament for the first time. Not Pyrrha Nikos, or just some girl. And my father pushed me to participate again each year. I only agreed because I didn't want to disappoint him.'_

_'I didn't have that many friends. I was only an object to them, a connection for them to take advantage of. I... quickly fell into a depression.'_

_'Weiss... she may have had an ulterior motive in befriending me, but she wasn't fake. She actually cared.'_

_'The Ice Queen cared? That doesn't seem like her, haha.' Yang giggles._

_'Yes, well... it's true.'_

"Hello. My name is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. I-It's a pleasure to meet you."

_'She didn't have that scar on her eye, and she was more mellowed out. She still had that side ponytail of hers, however.'_

Pyrrha smiled. "It's my pleasure, Miss Schnee. My name is Pyrrha Nikos. I hope we can get along." She bowed.

_'I met her father and sister as well. They were scary for my 12 year old self.'_

_'What were they doing in Mistral, anyway?' Noctis asks._

_'Take this with a grain of salt, but... I think Weiss was the one who wanted to go watch the tournament.'_

_'Wow... I guess Weiss was a totally different person when she was younger. __Something bad must've happened to her if she changed that much.__' Yang thinks out loud in wonder._

_'...'_

_'You alright, Blake?' Noctis asks, breaking her out of her thoughts._

_'Y-Yes... I'm fine. You can continue, Pyrrha.'_

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Schnee." Pyrrha's father shakes Jacques's hand.

"Likewise, Sir Nikos. Your daughter performed admirably in the tournament. My own daughter looks up to her." He complimented.

Weiss and Pyrrha were busy talking about their hobbies, sitting next to each other on the bleachers. Weiss's arms moved animatedly, while Pyrrha kept her hands on the cold metal of the benches.

"So... what is it you like to do?" Pyrrha asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Your hobbies. Things you do to have fun." Pyrrha elaborated. "For example, I like to read books."

Weiss stared at her like she had a screw loose.

_'She likes singing and dancing.'_

_'That... actually makes a lot of sense.'_

_'It also makes a lot of __**cents**__... Eh?'_

_..._

_'Because singing and dancing can be jobs...?'_

_..._

_'I thought it was funny...'_

"I would be more than glad to see you sing, Weiss."

"D-Do you really mean that?" Weiss asked, wide eyed.

Pyrrha smiled. "Of course."

_'I never properly got the chance.'_

_'We exchanged Scroll numbers and regularly kept in contact, but our schedules never lined up. Weiss had her heiress duties and studies to attend to, while I was busy with school and training. The only time we'd ever meet in person would always be at the tournaments. The weeks leading up to them, Weiss would text me nonstop, telling me about how excited she was to see me again.'_

_'But that changed during my last year at Sanctum.'_

"Where's Weiss?" Pyrrha asked her father. She hadn't received anything from the heiress, and any message sent was met with silence.

Her father placed his hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Maybe she's busy again. You how busy being an heiress is, don't you?"

"I... I guess." Pyrrha slumped.

_'I was still concerned. I didn't want to flood Weiss's Scroll with messages, but I needed to know what happened to her. When my Scroll buzzed, I saw that Weiss responded.'_

_'But all the message said was, 'Miss Schnee has been recovering from an injury, and apologizes for the inconvenience that has caused'.'_

_'My heart dropped. That wasn't Weiss. But I still tried to contact her, even though I knew deep down that it was pointless.'_

"Hey, Weiss. I won't be participating in the next regional tournament." Pyrrha sent a text.

...

"I think I'll be attending Beacon next year. How about you?" She sent another.

...

"Vale has nice weather this year, don't you think?" And another.

...

Pyrrha lowered her Scroll, sighing.

_'When I found out she was to attend Beacon, I was more than happy. But she changed when I first saw her there. I just hope we can rekindle that friendship again.'_

—o—

**April 13, Present day**

**00:54**

**Team RWBY's Dormitory**

"And that's the story of how I met Weiss. Make of it what you will." Pyrrha swallows audibly, her throat parched from talking so much.

"Wow..." Yang is floored. "It's actually nice to hear about the vulnerable side of Weiss. That Weiss seems a lot more bearable."

"I'm sure you'll see her soon enough." Pyrrha says, yawning.

"What time is it?"

Yang turns on her Scroll, wincing at the brightness of the screen. "It's almost one in the morning. We should go to sleep." She looks towards the front of the bed. "Noct, Blake, we should-"

Yang stops.

Noctis and Blake are fast asleep, their backs against the wall. Blake's head rests on his shoulder, and his cheek sits on top of her head. Their hands unconsciously brush up against each other as they sleep.

Pyrrha blinks. "They're... they're asleep."

Yang gushes, clasping her hands together and swaying.

"Awww~, that's soooooo cute~! Ah, I'm never letting this go!" Yang pumps her arms, giddy at the idea of blackmail. Her hand moves to her Scroll before Pyrrha slaps it away.

"Yang." Pyrrha chastises simply, her expression serious. She grips the blonde's shoulder, squeezing enough to hurt just a bit. "No blackmail."

Yang holds her hands up in surrender, wincing. "Fine, fine. Jeez, Pyrrha, you're such a buzzkill..."

Pyrrha rolls her eyes. Sighing, she stands up from the bed and stretches her legs. "So... what do we do now? Do we wake them up?"

Yang thinks, also standing beside Pyrrha. "Hm... Nah, It'd be funny seeing their reaction when they wake up tomorrow- er, today."

Pyrrha is torn, choosing between her sense of duty or her sense of amusement.

Yang nudges her in an effort to convince her. "Come on, Pyr. Live a little."

After moments of thinking, Pyrrha palms her face and reluctantly acquiesces to Yang. "They're going to hate us."

Yang just shrugs. She takes the bed sheet and drapes it over Noctis and Blake to keep them from getting cold (she's not a monster), giggling slightly when Blake unknowingly snuggles into Noctis's loose embrace. His leg shifts slightly under the covers, and his eyebrows furrow, but he stays asleep. Yang lets out a breath she doesn't remember holding.

"Time for you to leave, Pyrrha." Yang whispers. She quietly clambers up to the top bunk, shifting her body to look back at the red-haired girl.

Pyrrha nods, taking her Scroll out. "I'll get going, then."

As she opens the door to leave, she catches herself glancing at Noct and Blake, their black pajamas blending together in a dark mass.

_What would their combination be? Black Hole? _Pyrrha thinks with a suppressed chuckle.

Yang waves goodbye to her, waggling her fingers.

Pyrrha just shakes her head.

When the door closes, Yang peers over her bunk just one more time, to sneak a peek at the cute display happening just below her bed. Cooing again, she goes to sleep with a smile on her face.

_I can't wait._

—o—

**A/N: Wow... I'm so sorry about the wait, but college apps and senior year are kicking my ass right now. Writers block and general laziness hasn't helped either. Now that the deadline is close, don't expect another chapter for quite some time. I know I said that I'll update whenever I want, but I still feel a bit of responsibility for updating semi-regularly. See you in the next chapter.**

**And wow. I think my writing's gotten shittier. Somehow.**

**Oh. And Happy Halloween.**


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